Playing With Fire
by thatpurplecloud26
Summary: (Formerly Two Very Different Reasons) Everyone has been warned at least once in their life that playing with fire could have bad consequences. But that danger and adrenaline rush is why people do it anyway. The flame has a different way of luring in each person to play its dangerous game. However, there is one rule. Don't get too close. If you get burned is it worth it?
1. Prologue

A/N: Ok, my story will be mainly in my OC's POV, but since they are not introduced yet, this chapter/prologue is in Reborn's. (Well, one is technically introduced.) Gahh, why do you have to be so hard to write? Anyway, this story is kinda starting out slow but it will pick up, trust me. This chapter introduces one of my OC's, yes there are two, and next chapter will be in her point of view. Apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes, English is not my first language. Read and Review? Enjoy.

Prologue:

Third person point of view

Reborn was currently looking at a piece of paper. 'Hmmm...' he thought, 'Will this fool her enough?' Reborn was also looking at a profile of a student that attended Bishop's College School in Quebec, Canada. The picture in the profile was of a girl with slightly wavy white hair, sharp ice blue eyes, and a bored expression on her face. She also had strikingly similar facial features to someone he knew-someone who died a long time ago.

 **Student Profile:**

 **Name** : Arisa Matsuki

 **Blood Type** : AB

 **Age** : 12

'Twelve?' Reborn thought. 'Hmm...maybe this girl would be a good addition to the family. Her grades were definitely on par, or even better than Gokudera's, and she showed unlimited growth.'

 **Nationality** : Half Japanese, Half French/Canadian. She is also a polyglot, fluent in French, Quebec French, Japanese, English, Italian, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Reborn smirked one of his signature smirks. This girl is turning out to be more useful than he thought she was going to be. She would make a valuable asset to the family, if she joined.

 **Birth Date** : November 28

 **Teacher Notes** : Arisa is a very bright child, that is why she skipped a grade, but all the teachers here at Bishop's College School unanimously agree that she is not using her full potential. Arisa constantly sleeps in class, and does not pay attention half the time, but still manages to score the highest grades in the school. We teachers feel like if she were to use her full potential, Arisa could have graduated college already. Arisa also has quite a nasty attitude, but that is often pushed aside because of how smart she is. Most teachers are willing to put up with her snarky, smart-aleck comments, and her sarcasm to have the opportunity to teach such a child prodigy.

Reborn stopped reading Arisa's profile, and looked at the letter her was holding instead.

It said;

Dear Arisa Matsuki,

It is my great honor to award you with this opportunity to travel to Japan as an exchange student. You were picked out of thousands of young girls to attend the highly prestigious Midori Middle School for Girls, here in Namimori, Japan. The board of directors felt that you will flourish and grow from this trip. This is a 3 month exchange program. All of the expenses have been taken care of, and you will be staying with a host family who will take care of your everyday needs. I hope you do not miss this once in a lifetime chance to travel to Japan, and experience its rich culture, and of course, the academics. If you do indeed decide to go, please do not hesitate to contact me with the information I have given you. I hope to see you in Japan soon.

Best Regards,

Boreen-sensei, Ph.D

Reborn looked at the letter. He hoped that this would convince Arisa to go to Japan; otherwise he would have to resort to less pleasant alternatives, one being that he would kidnap her, and pretend that he was her long lost brother, who was dying of a terminal illness, and she needed to stay in Japan to take care of him. Reborn smirked.

"Matsuki Arisa, I hope to see you in Japan soon."


	2. I guess I am going to Japan

A/N: _Italics_ is Japanese. Regular is probably French for Arisa, since she lives in Canada.

First chapter, and this one is in Arisa or Ari's POV. My other OC will be introduced later.

Full author's note at the bottom.

Target One: I guess I'm going to Japan

Ari POV:

It was a normal night, me doing my homework in my room, and listening to kpop. It all started with me getting a letter.

"Ari there is something in the mailbox for you!" I heard my mother yell from downstairs.

"Is it another one of those college mail thingies?" I yelled back. "If it is, I have no interest in it." It's true that I was constantly spammed with letters and emails from colleges trying to get me to attend. I guess this is what happens when you put you send your PSAT score to every college.

"No Ari, it isn't college mail, it's from a Boreen." My mom yelled back.

"Who the hell has a name like Boreen?" I asked incredulously as I walked down the stairs. I plopped down on one of the barstools near our granite island countertop, and watched my mom prepare dinner.

"Language missy and the letter is on the counter." She pointed to it with the knife she was holding.

I ripped open the envelope, and inside it had this:

Dear Arisa Matsuki,

It is my great honor to award you with this opportunity to travel to Japan as an exchange student. You were picked out of thousands of young girls to attend the highly prestigious Midori Middle School for Girls, here in Namimori, Japan. The board of directors felt that you will flourish and grow from this trip. This is a 3 month exchange program. All of the expenses have been taken care of, and you will be staying with a host family who will take care of your everyday needs. I hope you do not miss this once in a lifetime chance to travel to Japan, and experience its rich culture, and of course, the academics. If you do indeed decide to go, please do not hesitate to contact me with the information I have given you. I hope to see you in Japan soon.

Best Regards,

Boreen-sensei, Ph.D

I almost squealed in excitement, almost. I quickly got up and showed the letter to Mother.

"Can I go?" I asked nonchalantly, but Mother seemed to see through my act and ruffled my hair.

"I can see you are really excited about this, Ari. Don't try to act all cool about it, I see that excited gleam in your eyes."

I sighed, "Yes, I am really excited, now can I go?"

Mother kissed the top of my head, "Of course you can sweetie." She then winked at me. "You might want to brush up on your Japanese before you go though."

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed as I hugged her. Mother's eyes widened just the tiniest bit, but then she smiled and patted my head. I did not really show signs of affection often, so maybe that is why she was surprised.

I ran upstairs to my room, and did not hesitate to call the number on the letter.

In Namimori, Japan. (In Tsuna's bedroom to be exact.)

"What's the answer to number 26?" Reborn asked, his big black eyes expectant.

"Ah...32?" Tsuna guessed.

"Wrong." Reborn pressed a button, and all of a sudden a bomb exploded in Tsuna's bedroom. It was a miracle that the rest of his house did not blow up with it to.

Downstairs Nana was obliviously preparing lots and lots of food. She could hear the slight explosion, and all the dishes rattled.

"My, my, what fun they are having up there."

Leon transformed into a phone, and Leon started ringing.

"Dame-Tsuna, figure out the answer to number 26 while I answer this call. If you do not get it right by the time I finish this call, you will die.

Reborn then picked up the phone.

The first thing I heard on the phone was someone shrieking. Whatever, that must be my imagination.

" _Moshi moshi."_ I greeted in Japanese, because Boreen was from Japan.

" _Ciaossu, I believe this is Matuski Arisa. Am I correct?"_

I marveled at how high the voice sounded. Clearly this must have been Boreen's kid or something. I cleared my throat.

" _Hai, this is Matsuki Arisa."_ I said carefully in Japanese. Damn, Mother was right. My Japanese was really rusty. Then again when would I use Japanese when I live in Quebec, Canada?

" _Can you please give the phone to Boreen-sensei?"_ I asked carefully adding the honorific at the end.

" _You are talking to Boreen-sensei right now. I believe you were calling me about the exchange program?"_

I barely registered all that in my head, because I had to process how this person on the phone, who sounded like a 3 year old was the world famous Boreen. When I looked him up, there was a plethora of articles on him, but no pictures.

" _Umm...hai, I was calling about the exchange program. I just wanted to let you know that I will go on the trip."_

" _Good,"_ Boreen said, _"The plane ticket shall be mailed to you, with your host family information too."_

" _Arigato-gozaimasu, Boreen-sensei."_ I said politely.

" _Your welcome. I look forward to meeting you, Matsuki Arisa."_ I'm pretty sure he was smirking through the phone. Then I heard a dial tone. 'He probably hung up.' I thought. Well he did not tell me when I was going, so might as well pack, and perfect my Japanese now.

"Dame-Tsuna, we are being a host family for an exchange student in a week."

"HIIIIIIIEEEEEE?! Don't we have enough people in our house already?" Tsuna cried, with his signature shriek.

"Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said, as he delivered a flying kick to the side of Tsuna's head. "But she might be the most important person staying at your house." 'And possibly your future wife.' Reborn thought.

"Did you answer question 26 yet?"

(*Insert cricket chirping noises…*)

BANG!

"My, my, sounds like they are having a lot of fun up there." Nana smiled and continued to cook normally.


	3. Not Where I Belong

A/N: Yay Chapter 3. Now I will introduce my other OC. *Drum Roll please….* In comes Kawahira Yuki.

Full author's note at the bottom.

Target Two: Not where I belong

I wasn't supposed to be here. It felt so wrong for me to be here, standing in front of a classroom, expectant eyes looking at me, murmurs rippling through the class. No, I did not belong here, did not belong where the people here had normal lives, they went to school and then went home because _I_ was not normal. I took a deep breath and bowed, deep, from the waist, plastering a fake smile on my face.

"Konnichiwa, watashinonamaeha Kawahira Yuki. I hope that we will all get along."

"Ok, Kawahira-san, you can sit next to Gokudera over there. Gokudera, will you please raise your hand?"

I saw a boy with silver hair grudgingly raise his hand and glare at me. I proceeded to walk towards my desk, and then I put my books down. 'Hmm…Gokudera Hayato. Smart boy with a very short temper. Dynamites as to be Tsuna's right-hand man.' I looked around the class until I saw a brunette, with gravity defying hair, and a very confused look on his face. Sawada Tsunayoshi, or Vongola Decimo. He looked really pathetic now, but in the future, he would become a great mafia boss.

And how do I know this you ask? It's because I am not normal.

It seemed like the first class of the day was math. Since math bored me to tears, and Gokudera looked like he was pretty bored too, I turned to him.

"Hi, I am Kawahira Yuki, but you can call me Yuki. Isn't math just the most boring subject of all?"

"Kawahira-san! Gokudera! It seems like both of you are not paying attention. Now Kawahira-san I know that today is your first day but will you please answer question 3 on the board?"

I knew that Sensei was trying to teach me a lesson, so that's why I decided to teach him my own. I glanced at the board for a second, and already knew the answer. The question was: State the vertex of the parabola when the equation is _(y-3)^2 =8(x-5)_

'Easy,' I thought. This was just simple algebra and mental math.

"The vertex is (5, 3)." I said. I had to make a reputation ofr myself, so might as well start now. I heard whispers through the class.

Sensei looks a bit shocked, and then probably swallowed his pride, because he said, "Good job, Kawahira-san, that was the right answer. Now do not talk anymore."

I gave Sensei my sweetest smile, so sweet I think it hurt my teeth, and turned and winked at Gokudera. I giggled because of how confused he looked.

Class finally ended, even though I spent most of the time in thought, not paying attention to Sensei's ramblings about parabolas and how to find the vertex and axis of symmetry.

As I was walking out of the classroom, heading to my next class, the last thing I heard was someone shrieking, and then I was on the floor with someone sprawled on top of me. I couldn't see who it was since this person tackled me from behind.

"JUUDAIME!" Somebody screamed. (Probably Gokudera though.)

"Eto…could you please get off of me, please?" I asked.

"HHIIEEEE! I am so sorry Kawahira-chan."

"It's ok," I replied as I saw it was Tsuna who tackled me. Figures.

"Call me Yuki," I said.

"Eh…ok Yuki…chan?" Tsuna said hesitantly.

I saw another boy, super tall (damn my short stature) with spiky black hair, and a constant smile on his face.

"Maa ma, Gokudera, calm down he said." Gokudera was throwing death glares at me, even though Tsuna was the one that fell on me.

'Yamamoto Takeshi,' I thought; the natural born hitman.

Yamamoto stuck out of his hand, I grabbed it, and he yanked me off the floor.

"Hey, Yuki-chan," he said with a smile, "Do you want to eat lunch with us on the roof?"

"Eto…sure." I replied smiling back at Yamamoto. (Whoooo! Making friends on my first day of school!)

A/N: Again, I have no life, and it's summer, so I have less of a life then I did before. But next week I will be starting freakin summer school. Screw my life. So my updates will be sporadic, but I will try to update as frequently as possible.


	4. What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

A/N: Whoooo! Fourth chapter is done! I am a fanfic writing machine. Anyway this is the chapter where Ari meets the fam. Full author's note at the bottom as always. Thanks to you guys who favorited and followed! 3

Oh, and the disclaimer…I own nothing, except my OCs. There done. Hope I don't have to do this for every chapter.

Onto the story! ;)

Target Three: What Have I Gotten Myself Into? (Ari POV)

There was a boy running toward me in his boxers with a..flame on his forehead? Ok, let's backtrack to the beginning, and how I got myself into this situation.

-Line-

I had just got off the phone with Boreen-sensei, and was starting to pack. I pulled out one of my Japanese workbooks that I had done years ago and flipped through it again, hoping to refresh my memory. Then Mother called me down to dinner. Father was finally home, and right after he put down all his things he engulfed me in a hug.

"Tou-san, I am too old for your hugs," I said after he released me, and I could breathe again.

"Awww…don't tell me my Ari-chan is too old for Tou-san's hugs!" he said, with tears in his eyes. Mother just laughed throughout this entire exchange.

"Yes, Tou-san, Ari's a big girl now. In fact," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Ari's going on an exchange trip to Japan." I counted to three to let Tou-san process the words. I sighed. I was going to tell Tou-san at dinner, sugar-coat it a little, and then my final attack would be my sparkly puppy eyes, which he has never refused before. This way I was guaranteed to get my Tou-san's permission. Oh god. Did Mother not want me to go or something?

"WHHAAAA? My dear baby is going to Japan all by herself? Oh, but Japan is very dangerous you see, with the ummm…yakuza, and the…ummm…mafia…"

"Mafia? What the hell are you saying Tou-san. There is no mafia in Japan. Plus I can handle myself, I am twelve." I crossed my arms, and tried to look mature.

"Yes, sweetie," Mother said, "I think she can go. Plus Boreen was the one who sent the letter regarding the exchange program." When Mother said Boreen, Tou-san's eyes narrowed just the tinniest bit, and his mouth set in a hard line.

"Boreen?" Tou-san said, almost in a disgusted way.

"Do you know him Tou-san? I asked. "When I looked him up he seemed to be very famous.

"Go to bed now Ari." Tou-san asked-no commanded.

"But…"

"Now." I knew it wasn't a question, and here would be serious consequences if I did not obey. I grudgingly walked up the stairs to my room wondering why Tou-san was all worked up.

From my room I could hear faint snippets of arguing.

"You know who Boreen really is Claire. Why did you let Ari go?" I heard Tou-san ask, in his quiet level voice. Whenever he used this tone, though I could tell her was furious.

"Now now, we have been sheltering Ari too much! I know that you think this is for her own good, but she has to find out sometime. It is better if she finds out know, instead of later." Mother replied, in her usually calm voice, but this time there was something different in it, a commanding tone, that challenged you to disobey it.

"How am I suppose to sit back and let my daughter's pure soul get tarnished by the mafia?!" Tou-san cried incredulously. 'Mafia?' I thought. Now I was getting super confused. There was no mafia in Japan.

"You forget she is my daughter too, Hitoshi. And I think that it is best that she learns about her true blood, from people that are not us."

"But-"

"No buts Hitoshi, it is already done." Mother said, her words final.

After I overheard this conversation I was so confused. What about the mafia? And my 'true blood'? What the hell was going on?

 **XoXoXoXoX**

Today was the day I was leaving, and I was standing at the airport gate waving goodbye to Mother and Tou-san. Boreen must have been loaded because I had a first class plane ticket. I also had to ride a train to get there because my host family lived in the rural, country part of Japan. Oh, I was so excited to meet my host fam. I wondered what type of people they would be. Would they be the shy kind? Talkative? Crazy? Fun-Loving? I really did not know, and could not wait to find out.

 **XoXoXoXoX**

"Dame-Tsuna. Your exchange student is coming in a few minutes, and we have to be at the train station by 3:00. It's 2:53." Reborn said while kicking Tsuna in the face.

"Mama we have to go!" Tsuna said exasperated. The house was bustling with last minute preparations for the girl, whose name was Matsuki Arisa. There were so many people in his house, it was hard to get them all to listen. Bianchi was trying to make a cake, but everything she touches would become poison cooking so Yamamoto was trying to distract her, while Gokudera was on the floor curled up in fetal position. Lambo was being annoying as usual, and I-Pin was trying to get him to share some of his candy. Fuuta was ranking the most random things, like the fastest way to get to the train station. Wait a minute, that's actually useful. With his whole house in chaos, Tsuna just wanted to go to the train station and meet the student. He wondered how she was going to put up with his crazy friends for three whole months. Tsuna was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not see Reborn shoot him with a dying will bullet. 'Huh,' Tsuna thought, 'I regret not being able to be on time to meet the transfer student.'

 **XoXoXoXoX**

I tapped my foot impatiently and looked at my phone again. It was 2:59 PM. Supposedly my host family was supposed to be here at three, but there was no sign of them. And then I saw something really strange. There was a brunette running toward me, in his boxers, with a crazy look in his eyes, and a weird flame on his forehead.

"MEET MATSUKI ARISA WITH MY DYING WILL!" he screamed.

'Oh god,' I thought, 'He couldn't possibly be part of my host family could he?'

He continued to run at an un-humanly speed straight toward me, and I thought he was going to run me over, until he stopped just a few centimeters away from me. The flame seemed to disappear, and now he looked like a regular boy. He looked at me and then bowed.

"Uh….s-sorry about that. My name is S-sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me T-tsuna." He stammered out, quite pathetically I might say.

I bowed back, "Hello, my name is Matsuki Arisa, I look forward to getting to know you."

After a few minutes of awkward silence, the rest of the family came. And it was a huge family. Tsuna must have seen my eyes widening as I mentally counted how many people there were. He laughed.

"Not all those people are my family. Well…they are my family, but some of them do not live with me. Mina! Come introduce yourselves!"

After all the introductions were done, and we were walking back to Tsuna's house, I could not help but wonder,

'What the hell did I get myself into?'

A/N: I think this is my longest chapter yet. Well whatever, there is bound to be longer ones though. Anyway Ari meeting the family! Really Ari, What have you gotten yourself into? Oh, and btw, I am starting this story after the Kokuyo Arc, because my OCs would basically be useless at that time. I will throw in some events in the daily life arc, like Tsuna still being shot with the dying will bullet, but I will probably cut out the Kokuyo Arc. It's ok. Mukuro will make his appearance later. So after a few more chapters of fluff and character development, we will jump straight into the Varia Arc. Look forward to it!

GWAHAHA I want candy! (Guess who I was pretending to be ;) Just kidding I want reviews. Review? Please? 3


	5. First Encounter With The Demon

Disclaimer: I own everything…..in my room. What I do not own is KHR.

Full author's note at the bottom ;)

Target Four: First Encounter With The Demon (Yuki POV)

A/N: Short author's note. So as you can tell by the title, I think most of us can guess who Yuki is meeting in this chapter. No? Well then let me give you a hint…(it's a certain skylark.)

Lunchtime finally rolled around, and I headed up to the rooftop with Tsuna's group. I walked next to Yamamoto, since he seemed the most normal, and the easiest to get along with. As we were chatting, I could hear the judgmental whispers about me fling through the air.

"Ne, did you see that new transfer student? Thinking she can hang out with Gokudera just because she sits next to him."

"Yeah, and do you see the way see is walking so close to Yamamoto? She must be trying to get close to him, to make herself popular."

"I know right? They must be blinded by her prettiness to not see her ulterior motive."

The last statement I had no idea whether that was an insult or a compliment. Anyway, we were not situated on the rooftop, and the view from the roof was breath taking. I would have enjoyed the scenery a little longer, but I felt something aimed at my back, so I jumped out of the way, and did a half turn in midair to see what it was. My body ended up colliding with a chain fence, (If it was not there, I would have gone flying off the roof) but the fence was rusted, and I think I dented it.

"Herbivore," I heard a low voice growl, "You cannot dye your hair, or wear colored contacts at Nami-Chuu. For disobeying these rules, kamikorosu."

'Oh god, I did not think I would run into him this soon. _Hibari Kyoya_ , the Vongola Cloud guardian and arguably the strongest. Jesus, I didn't even violate any of the rules.'

'Hold up, did he just say he would bite me?' I thought. 'That sounds kind of….kinky…' I really didn't have time to dwell on the meaning of those words, when he swung at my knees, fully intent on crippling me, but I jumped forward, and did a very unnecessary front walkover to dodge his tonfa. (Hey, things have to be a little dramatic sometimes, am I right?)

"Wao, you are fast herbivore. But you violated the school handbook, so you must be bitten to death."

He swung at me again, and once again I jumped out of the way, but this time I was about to say something, and I bit my tongue on accident as I was jumping backward.

"Baka!" I spat. "This is my natural hair color, and this is my natural eye color. Jesus." I guess I could understand why he thought I dyed my hair, because I had black hair with white streaks in it. Not silver, like Gokudera's hair, but pure white, which looked like I bleached the crap to achieve that color. And my eyes were a startling, bright violet. I always liked the color of my eyes, but it was not uncommon for people to stare, or ask if I was wearing colored contacts.

I found myself backed up against the fence again, and Hibari lodged his tonfa into the fence, where I just was a second ago. He caused a bigger dent in the fence than I did.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "For damaging Nami-Chuu, I will bite you to death."

I looked at him like he crazy. "Excuse-zee moi, but you seem to be damaging Nami-Chuu more than I am." I said defiantly with my arms crossed. "Everyone knows you love the school, but how can you protect it when you are the one damaging it? Just because you are the strongest Vongola guardian, doesn't mean you don't need logic, Hi-bar-i Kyo-ya."

I could hear Tsuna audibly shriek, because he knew I signed my death warrant. I think I would have died, if a certain baby did not intervene.

"Baby," I heard Kyoya say, "Let me finish biting that irritating herbivore to death."

"It's ok Hibari; you can bite her to death another time. Eight now I have questions I want to ask her." Reborn, the Sun Arcobaleno said.

"Now now Reborn," I scolded playfully, "Don't make promises you can't keep." Suddenly I had a gun pointed at me.

"Who are you and what do you want with the Vongola?" Reborn asked, surprisingly emitting a deadly aura.

I involuntarily shuddered, but kept the smile on my face. "Nice to meet you too, Reborn, Sun Arcobaleno. My name is Kawahira Yuki, but you might know me better as Claire Voyant."

A/N: You see what I did there? You see it? Hehehehe. Anyway, who I this Claire Voyant chick? You will have to wait. Sorry if it seems that my chapters are short, I don't like making them too long. Read and Review?


	6. InterestingTo Say The Least

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR. Btw: If some characters might be OOC, forgive me, but I tried my hardest to make them stay in character. I also have my sister, who would kill me if any of the characters were OOC, so read and enjoy!

Author's note at the bottom as always. ;)

Target Five: Interesting…To Say The Least. (Ari POV)

Staying at a complete stranger's house is….interesting. I thought I would have normal host family, but this family was anything but normal. Once we had walked back to Tsuna's house, and Nana (who persistently urged me to call her Mama) was busy making snacks, the proper introductions began.

First there was a little toddler, who had an afro, and was dressed like a cow.

"Ne, ne, do you want to be Lambo-sama's subordinate?" He asked in a haughty tone.

"Lambo, it is rude to force people to be your subordinates." Another toddler said in broken Japanese. She looked about the same age, and was wearing a red Chinese traditional shirt.

She then looked at me and bowed politely, "Ni-hao, may name is I-Pin, and this is Lambo." She pointed to the cow toddler next to her. I was a little confused. Were toddlers supposed to be like this? Soon they were gone, I-Pin chasing Lambo, and Lambo talking about candy and…grenades? I did not have much time to dwell on that thought because a tan, tall, lean boy, who had spiky black hair, and chocolate brown eyes, slung his arm around my shoulder, and grinned. I flinched from the physical contact of his arm around my shoulders, because my shoulders were weirdly sensitive.

"Hey, I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, but you can call me Yamamoto. My favorite things are baseball and milk. I look forward to getting to know you." He smiled brightly at me. I thought his jaw was going to fall off from smiling so much.

"Sorry, Tsuna, but my old man wants me back at the place to help him." Yamamoto removed his arm from my shoulders, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It's not that I don't like physical contact; it's just that I hate being touched on my shoulders, neck, or collarbones. He shot me another blinding smile.

"Sayonara Tsuna, Arisa. See you around!" And with that, he left. I thought I could relax now that most of the people were gone, but no.

"TO THE EXTREME!" Somebody yelled in a gruff, hoarse voice, but it wasn't unpleasant. I involuntarily shuddered at the volume.

"SAWADA! I heard you are hosting a transfer student! Elder Pao Pao told me to introduce myself to the extreme!" He screamed, while fist-pumping the air.

"Onii-san! What are you doing here?" Tsuna asked, his eyes wide.

'Onii-san?' I thought. There was no way that these two guys could be brothers.

"I've forgotten to the extreme!" He yelled in frustration. I inwardly cringed again at his volume. Does this guy ever lose his voice? Maybe his voice is so hoarse because of all the screaming he does.

"Ano…Onii-chan, does it have something to do with the box you are holding?" Tsuna asked, pointing to the white box in his hands. I could see Tsuna mentally face palming.

"Oh. Yes. Thank you Sawada, I remember now."

He turned to me, "My name is Sasagawa Ryohei, and I am the captain of the boxing club. My younger sister, Kyoko, wanted to meet you in person today, but she is busy, so she asked me to deliver this cake to you. This cake comes from her favorite bakery, so please enjoy it to the extreme!" He yelled passionately while offering me white box.

"Arigato-gozaimasu." I said while bowing politely. "My name is Matsuki Arisa. Hajimemashite." I took the box, from his calloused, bandaged hands.

"Well, nice meeting you. Sawada, I will see you at school tomorrow! Sayonara!" Ryohei yelled while walking out the door.

'Was it over?' I thought while sinking into a chair. Tsuna seemed to notice how tired I was, and laughed sheepishly.

"Hahaha, my group of friends, are a lively bunch aren't they?" he said sheepishly while chuckling.

"Yes," I agreed, "Your group of friends, is very…lively indeed."

I sighed, the tiredness catching up to me.

"Ano…" I said hesitantly, "Do you mind showing me my room now? The jetlag is killing me, and I want to settle in, before taking a nap." It's true I was fatigued, because of the 13 hour time difference, and I really wanted a nap.

"Uh…sure. Follow me." Tsuna said. I got up to follow him, and felt a little woozy. 'Uhg,' I thought, 'I feel a headache starting.' Tsuna once again noticed my state of being, which at this point was weak, and grabbed my bags, so I wouldn't have to carry them. I swear that boy has some physic powers or something.

We walked up the stairs, and he stopped at a door.

"Here is you room, there is a personal bathroom inside the room for you to use, and my room is right across the hall, so if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask. Okay?"

I smiled gratefully. Tsuna was turning out to be a very nice and caring boy. I guess staying here for 3 months isn't going to be that bad after all. I looked over at Tsuna, who was just standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Uh...well…I guess I will leave you to unpack, and sleep…if you want. I will be right across the hall if you need me…" He stuttered sheepishly. I laughed at how awkward he was being, and opened the door to my room. It was a really cute and modern guest room, with a separate bathroom, a desk, and a walk-in closet. There was also a bed, with someone in it. Wait…

"TSUNA!" I yelled. I heard him trip over something, before I saw his head peek into my doorway.

"Itai," He muttered rubbing his head, and then he turned his attention toward me.

"Yes Matsuki-chan? Daijōbu?"

"Eto…am I suppose to share a room with someone?" I asked completely confused, because there was person sleeping where I was to be sleeping. "And call me Arisa or Ari. I am not used to the last name calling basis, and it's a bit awkward."

"Ok, Ari…chan…" Tsuna said hesitantly. He then looked just as confused as I did when he saw the lump on my bed. But then he laughed nervously, "Oh…haha…that's Gokudera-kun. He's not an exchange student, he's my friend."

I raised my eyebrow questioningly. Tsuna seemed to get at what I was hinted, and blushed a bright red.

"N-no! Not like that! You see…he gets sick whenever he sees his sister, so he is just resting here." Tsuna managed to stammer out.

"Wow…what an interesting brother/sister relationship they have." I said, looking at the lump sleeping on _my_ bed. I was supposed to be sleeping there right now. The lump, who I now knew as Gokudera, finally stirred from his sleep.

"J-juudaime?" he asked with one eye half open. Suddenly a girl appeared in the doorway. She looked to be about 17-18, and she was drop dead gorgeous. She had long light pink hair, with olive green eyes. She was leaning against the doorway, in a way that looked carefree, but model-esque.

"B-bianchi?" Tsuna questioned, looking surprised, and a little weary.

"So that's where you were, Hayato. It's time to go home." The girl, Bianchi, said with a light scolding tone in her voice.

"A-aneki," Gokudera wheezed as he clutched his stomach, and fell off the bed.

"Oh, Hayato," Bianchi sighed, "I told you not to eat too much." I saw Tsuna face palm, and sigh. Bianchi then walked over to Gokudera, and slung him over her back, piggy-back style.

"I'm going to drop Hayato off at home, and then I will be right back, to help Mama prepare dinner." Tsuna seemed to visibly pale, and panic at what Bianchi said.

"Uhh…uh, no need Bianchi. Hahaha…t-take your time…get some ice cream or something…haha." Tsuna said while awkwardly laughing.

I walked over to the bed, tuned out all the noise, plopped down, and promptly fell asleep before my head hit the pillow. The last thing I thought, before I drifted off to Lala land, was that these three months were going to be…interesting to say the least.

A/N: Another chapter done! I'm starting summer school in a day, so I'm trying to write as much as I can, when I actually have the time. I really like this chapter, and I hope you will too! Thank you to everybody who favorite and followed! I'll try to update more chapters today or tomorrow.


	7. Girls From Midori Are Weird

Disclaimer: I don't really need to say it do I?

Target Six: Girls From Midori Are Weird (Yuki POV)

 _Flashback:_

" _Who are you and what do you want with the Vongola?" Reborn asked, emitting a deadly aura._

 _I involuntarily shuddered, but kept the smile on my face. "Nice to meet you too, Reborn, Sun Arcobaleno. My name is Kawahira Yuki, but you might know me better as Claire Voyant."_

-Line-

"Hiiieeee?!" I heard Tsuna shriek, "Who is Claire Voyant, and what is the Arcobaleno?"

I sighed, "Claire Voyant is me Tsuna, it's just my alias that I use for my job."

"Job?" Tsuna asked incredulously, "Why do you have a job? And why do you need a fake name?"

Suddenly Gokudera jumped in front of Tsuna with lots of dynamite in between his fingers.

"Juudaime! You cannot trust her!" Gokudera said to Tsuna, "I heard about a person named Claire Voyant back in Italy."

"Italy?" Tsuna asked. Then realization bitch slapped him across the face. "Don't tell me…could it be…? Yuki-chan, you're in the mafia?!"

"Yes, Tsuna, I am, but I'm not like the other mafia people. I despise killing, and I'm not an assassin or anything, I'm merely an info broker. I don't fight with my physical body, or skills, I fight with my information, and my brain." I tapped my head.

"The most powerful info broker, I might add." Reborn said, while thankfully Leon turned back into a chameleon. "I always thought Claire Voyant was someone a random familigia made up, and that myth just stuck. I heard that she could even tell you what would happen in the future, hence her name Claire Voyant. If you say it aloud, it sounds like the word clairvoyant, which means someone who knows the future. All for the right price too."

"Very good Reborn, I see that you are not the number one hitman in the world for nothing. And nope," I replied while popping the 'p'. "Claire Voyant is very real because I am her and she is me."

"See Juudaime?" Gokudera sneered accusingly, "She could be a spy for an enemy familigia, sent to gather info. I heard that her information is not cheap, and that she will do anything for money."

"Now now Gokudera-kun." I pouted, "I wouldn't sell you guys out, even if somebody offered me an obscenely amount of money." Gokudera roughly grabbed onto my wrist and pulled me aside.

His voice dropped to a menacing growl, "If Juudaime trusts you, then I will try to trust you too, but don't get me wrong, if Juudaime gets hurt, and it is your fault, I will not hesitate to end you."

"Ok," I replied. "Jesus, Gokudera could be plain scary when he wanted to be. My train of thought broke when Reborn brought up an interesting proposal."

"Join Tsuna's family." I suddenly heard Reborn say.

"That didn't sound like a question." I replied, with a hint of weariness in my voice.

"It was never a question to begin with. You will become a very nice asset to the Vongola Family, and if you refuse, you will die. Simple, no?" Reborn said all this while looking me straight in the eye.

I sighed, "Fine, fine, I'll join, but don't expect me to give you information for free." I walked towards Reborn, and didn't stop until I was right next to his ear. I lowered my voice, "I have lots of information that could cause the downfall of the Vongola Family, Renato Sinclair, remember that. Don't get on my bad side." I straightened up and smiled at the rest of the group.

"So now that y'all know who I really am, let's go back to class, and y'all can process what I just told you."

-Line-

When we were walking back to class, Tsuna grabbed my wrist, albeit gentler than Gokudera, and pulled me aside.

"Yuki," He said, his usually brown eyes were glowing orange. His tone took on a more surprising seriousness to it. "My gut is usually right, and it is telling me that you mean no harm, but you are dangerous." His face was eerily clam when he said this. "If any of my friends or family, get hurt because of you…I will never forgive you. Do not take that lightly."

'So this was the real Vongola Decimo huh?' I mused, 'He would turn into a great mafia boss, say…ten years down the line.'

I laughed trying to break the tense atmosphere, "Jeez, that's the third time I've been threatened today, y'all really need to stop, I ain't gonna hurt you." (Wow, whenever I get like nervous or anything, I tend to talk all Southern…)

"Oh, and by the way Tsuna," I called out as we were going into separate classrooms. "That's not your gut, that's your Vongola Hyper Intuition, don't ever doubt it."

"Hyper Intuition…?" I heard him question.

"It's fine Tsuna-kun, you will find out about it later, and it will come in handy sometime in the future." I saw Reborn in one of his hiding places sipping an espresso, listening to every word I just said. I winked at him and headed into my next class.

-Line-

Reborn POV

If Reborn wasn't…well… Reborn, then he would've showed shock, or disbelief, or pain, when Yuki said his real name. That name he threw away when he became Reborn; the name that he tried ever so hard to forget, because it brought back painful memories. Nobody knew his real name, except for a handful of people, and all those people were all dead.

Yuki also knew about the Vongola Hyper Intuition. This intuition was only known by the Vongola, and those who possessed it. How did she ever find out about it? And she said it would be useful for the future. Could it be that Yuki was really clairvoyant?

'Kawahira Yuki, or Claire Voyant, I will have to keep a very close eye on you.' Reborn thought while Leon subconsciously turned into a gun.

The nerve of that girl to wink at him too. She was really going to get into deep trouble someday.

-Line-

So the end of the school day was upon us, and Tsuna invited me over to his house to do homework together. Tsuna and Yamamoto had extra work to do in math because they both failed their tests. Gokudera was also coming over to help, 'Only Juudaime,' he said, 'I'm not helping that yakyu-baka.' And so Gokudera left Yamamoto to me. (Gokudera was still wary of me, but since it seemed like Tsuna accepted and trusted me, he tried to too.)

When we arrived at Tsuna's (Yamamoto, Tsuna, and I, because Gokudera was coming later.) house we went in, and Nana, Tsuna's mom, told us that she would bring up snacks in a little bit. So we all headed up to Tsuna's room, and when he opened the door, there was something, rather, someone in there. There was a girl, about our age, sprawled on the floor sleeping. She had wavy silver hair, like Gokudera's, that was partially covering her face, and she was wearing a uniform.

"Hey, isn't that the Midori Middle School's uniform?" Yamamoto asked, making sure to whisper, so we would not wake the sleeping girl up. "That super prestigious all girls school? And…is that Arisa?" Tsuna nodded.

"Who's Arisa?" I asked raising one of my eyebrows. "Tsuna, do you have a girlfriend? If so, how did you even manage to score her? She looks way out of your league." I watched in amusement as Tsuna's face turned beet red.

"You hurt me, Yuki-chan, and no she isn't my girlfriend. She is a transfer student that is staying at my house."

"If she is staying at your house, then why isn't she attending Nami-Chuu?" I asked, truly confused. Why would a transfer student stay with a host family, and not even attend the same school the host kid was?

"Great question, Yuki." We all whipped our heads around to the person that was speaking. It was Reborn.

"Honestly, if she attended Nami-Chuu, it would be way too easy for her. Mina, meet Matsuki Arisa, child prodigy, and the newest addition to the Vongola Family." I wondered how Reborn could say this with a straight face.

"HIIEEEE?" Tsuna shrieked again, he really needed to stop shrieking. "You brought Ari-chan here all the way from Canada, just because you wanted her to join the mafia?"

I couldn't help it anymore, I burst out laughing. "I'm sorry guys, hahahaha, but this chick, hahaha, is a child prodigy? Hahahaha, sorry but she just looks really pathetic right now. Hahaha." I managed to say in between laughs. It was true. Here she was lying on the floor without a care in the world, looking, defenseless. She definitely was not trained, and did not know about the mafia. But she did interest me. I had no information on Matsuki Arisa, and I really wondered what kind of dirty secrets she was hiding. I finally calmed myself down enough so that I could talk in coherent sentences again. "But why is she sleeping in your room, on the floor?" I asked Tsuna.

"I have no idea Yuki-chan, come on let's get her back to her room because the floor probably isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on." Tsuna suggested.

"Good idea, Tsuna, I'll carry her." Yamamoto said. In one fluid scooping motion, Yamamoto had Ari in his arms, and carried her bridal style back to her room.

"Awwww…" I cooed, I couldn't help it; I am a hopeless romantic after all.

-Line-

Then the doorbell rung, announcing Gokudera's arrival.

"Come on, guys," I said, "Let's actually get some homework done." Gokudera didn't want to help Yamamoto, so I had to help him instead. Yamamoto wasn't that dumb, it's just that he spent so much time on baseball, that he had no time for academics.

"Hey, this is pretty easy," Yamamoto said while laughing. "Once I read the book, and now I have Yuki-chan helping me, this isn't hard at all."

I laughed. "Yeah, Yamamoto-kun, once you actually know how to do it, it isn't that hard right?"

I watched Tsuna's face fall when Yamamoto nodded in agreement. Gokudera seemed to notice the difference in Tusna's facial expression because he exploded.

"Yakyu-baka! Don't you see you are making Juudaime upset? It's ok Juudaime you can get it too!"

Yamamoto laughed sheepishly, "I still don't get question seven though."

"Ahahaha, see Juudaime, Yamamoto doesn't get question seven." Gokudera said haughtily.

"Tsuna looked at him with a dead look on his face. "I don't care about question seven; I don't get half this worksheet!"

"Juudaime, it's ok, you can show your power by solving question seven in no time right?" Gokudera asked. It seemed he was trying to convince himself, more than Tsuna.

Tsuna looked at the paper, skeptical.

"If you had a stack of 100 sheets of 11.5cm2, which are dropped together from a height of 3 meters, prove that when they fall to the ground, they will not fall apart." Tsuna looked at the paper again.

"I DON'T GET THIS AT ALL!" he wailed.

Yamamoto suggested we get an adult's help, and I did not want to intervene, because I already knew how this would end.

Bianchi came in and ripped up Tsuna's worksheet, saying it lacked love, Gokudera passed out because of a stomach ache, and then a girl, who I knew as Haru came in with a bandana around her face bearing snacks.

"Nice disguise," I told her, my voice dripping with sarcasm while I was munching on a cookie. The boys still wanted to ask her for help though, because they said she went to a very elite school, the same school Ari goes to, and she must be very smart. After three hours of staring at the paper, she could not solve it. That made her dad come, and he could not solve it either.

"It can't be proven," Is what he said.

Then Reborn woke up from his nap, took one glance at the paper, and said, "It can be proven."

"Yeah," I interrupted, "If the papers had glue, then the stack would stay together as it falls."

Haru's dad looked at me and then back at Reborn.

"It can't be…those sideburns. You must be Boreen-sensei!" Reborn didn't pay any attention to this because he fell back asleep.

I sighed, "Ok, now is my time to leave. Bye Tsuna-kun, Yamamoto-kun, see you tomorrow at school!"

As I was walking back to my house, I couldn't help but think; girls who go to Midori Middele School are really weird, but intriguing.

A/N: Whooo! Two updates in one day…whaaatttt? Anyway this chapter is more than 2k+ long yaaay! Officially my longest chapter yet. Plus my OCs kind of met in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy, and there is a reason why Ari and Gokudera haven't run into each other yet. Wait for my next chapter to find out! Review? Question of the day which is more badass; guns or shuriken and kunai? (Like Naruto ;)


	8. Silver Meets Silver

Disclaimer: I don't need to do this for every chapter do I? I do not own KHR, if I did, it would suck.

A/N: Ahhhh! I was so excited to write this chapter, you'll see why when you read it ;)

Full author's note at the bottom as always!

Target Seven: Silver meets Silver (Ari POV)

I stretched luxuriously under the covers of my bed. Today was Sunday, so we had no school. I could finally relax, and sleep in as long as I wanted. School was fairly easy for me, but it was definitely more challenging than back home. I loved the difficulty of having to speak in another language that was not my first, and Mechanics was my worst subject (because it was in Japanese.) I still had a high grade in that class though.

I also didn't really try to make friends, I mean there were the people I would talk to, and sit with at lunch, but I didn't really consider them my friends; more like…acquaintances. Well, I wanted to be more focused on school, so I didn't really interact with anybody, unless I had too.

So I pulled myself out of bed and walked downstairs. I was met by the sight of Maman laughing and cooking breakfast, Bianchi trying to feed Reborn, and he was actually accepting, Lambo eating off of everyone's plate, and I-pin scolding him. I guess Tsuna wasn't up yet. I walked to an empty seat, and was greeted by a huge plate stacked to the top with pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon.

Maman smiled at me and said, "I decided that today would be a Western style breakfast. Do you like it?"

"Of course I do Maman," I replied, "Maman's cooking is the best!" (I finally caved in to Nana's request, to call her Mama, and it actually wasn't that awkward. But I called her Maman, which is French, because it felt more comfortable.) I shot her a smile before saying "Itadakimasu!" and I dug in. After I finished my huge plate of food, I heard Maman sigh.

"My, my Tsu-kun isn't up yet. Ari-chan could you go wake up him please? I am a little busy with breakfast."

"Yes, Maman." I replied with a smile. Tsuna would so owe me later because I was waking him up instead of Reborn. Reborn had some Spartan ways of waking Tsuna up including; hitting him with a mallet, making a bomb explode, and when he would wake up he would trip on a trip wire, and that would set off more explosives. I decided that I would just shake him awake like a normal person.

I opened the door to his room, and was met by stuff littered on the ground. Trash, manga, magazines, schoolwork, and clothes were all laid haphazardly around Tsuna's room, and there he was on his bed, snoring without a care in the world. 'I should really get him to clean his room' I thought, 'It would make Maman really happy.'

Then I saw a white flash out of my peripheral vision. There was a corner of a piece of paper sticking out of a drawer. I quietly picked my way across the room, not wanting to wake up Tsuna just yet. I opened the drawer, and pulled out the piece of paper. It was his most recent math test, and he got 20%. I shook my head at this. 'How is that even possible?' I thought. 'I really should tutor him….'

I took a deep breath and smirked, I think this was crueler than any of Reborn's methods. Screw waking him up like a normal person, this was so much more fun. (Shit, I think my sadist side is coming out…)

"Wake up Tsuna, who scored a 20 on his math test!" I yelled with glee at the top of my lungs. I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood could hear me, but that was the point. Tsuna immediately bolted upright from his bed, and tried to grab the test out of my hand, but he only managed to trip on one of his shirts on the floor. I side-stepped and watched Tsuna face plant into the floor.

Then the door opened and there was Reborn standing there with a deadly aura surrounding him.

"Dame-Tsuna, you got a 20 on your math test?" Reborn said, calmly, but with a vicious undertone.

"Ano….h-hai…?" Tsuna managed to stutter out.

"Dame-Tsuna!" Leon turned into a mallet, I have no idea how, and Reborn jumped and smashed Tsuna on top of his head.

"Itai…" Tsuna murmured while rubbing the top of his head.

"We will have to study twice as hard today," Reborn said resolutely. "You will get higher than a 50 on your next math test." Tsuna was beginning to protest, but was cut off by Reborn.

"If you don't score higher than a 50 on your next test," Reborn said, dead serious, "I will kill you." Tsuna gulped and nodded.

I looked at him apologetically, "Sorry Tsuna, while you are studying, Maman and I are going to the Namimori Shopping District with Kyoko!"

I watched his face turn bright red, and he was trying to stammer out an excuse.

"See, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn said, "If you had scored higher, I would have let you go."

Tsuna looked dejected at this statement. 'Of course he would,' I thought, 'He is in love with Kyoko after all. Even I know that, and I don't even go to the same school they do!' I winked at him, "Ganbatte!" I said encouragingly. I then went back to my room, to change.

* * *

Maman and I met up with Kyoko, and it seemed that she brought along Haru.

"You know Haru, right Ari-chan?" Kyoko asked innocently, a sweet smile on her face, with imaginary sparkles all around her.

"Yes, I know Haru, we have one class together." I shot her a smile. She smiled back at me.

"I'm Haru, I hope we become good friends~desu!" She said brightly.

"Yes," I replied, "Now let's go shopping."

"We need to find a yukata for Ari-chan to wear at the summer festival!" Maman exclaimed.

"Oh! I know the perfect shop for that~desu!" Haru suddenly declared. "Follow me!"

We all followed Haru as she walked confidently in front. 'Woah,' I thought, 'Japan has super cute clothing; I can't wait to buy all this stuff.'

"Here we are!" Haru said, as she stopped abruptly. We were in front of a cute looking shop, with a bunch of yukatas modeled in the front of the store.

"My mother used to know the grandma that worked here, so we always get discounts!" She winked at me, "And they have supper pretty yukatas too! I got mine here."

"Now that you bring that up," Kyoko said thoughtfully, "I need a new yukata too, my old one is too small for me."

"Alright!" Haru cried passionately, "Operation find Ari-chan, and Kyoko-chan cute yukatas is a go~desu!" Haru and Kyoko paired up and went to the other side of the store, while Maman and I started looking in the front. There were so many yukatas, that I was a bit overwhelmed, and some of them looked modernized with sequins, and lace.

"I think I want a simple and traditional yukata, Maman." I said hesitantly.

"Of course Ari-chan," Maman replied understanding, "Simple is the best after all."

Maman pulled a light pink yukata from the wall. It was baby pink, with delicate cherry blossoms scattered around it.

"I think this would look really cute on you, Ari-chan." She said encouragingly. I looked at the yukata. It definitely was pretty, but it wasn't my style.

"Eto…." I looked at Maman's hopeful face. "I guess I will try it on." I didn't want to disappoint Maman.

A flash of blue cause my eye. It was another yukata that was baby teal, like a turquoise, and it had white lilies, with silver accents. It was breathtaking. Maman saw me eyeing it, and she picked it up.

"This one would look so beautiful on you Ari-chan." Maman cooed. I knew that I didn't need to shop anymore I found the one for me.

In the end, I ended up buying the teal yukata with the lilies, and Kyoko found a pale blue yukata with goldfish all over. It looked really cute on her. We walked out of the store, and a piano store caught my eye. Maman, Kyoko, and Haru wanted to visit their favorite bakery, but I told them to go on ahead without me.

"I'll meet up with you later." I promised them. "I just want to check something by myself."

"Ok," Maman said reluctantly. "Just don't take too long ok?"

"I won't," I promised.

I walked into the store, and saw a beautiful snow white grand piano. I sat down on the bench, and ran my hands over the smooth keys. 'God, how long has it been since I last played?' I thought. It's true I used to be obsessed with piano. I used to practice every day for hours, and I even competed in competitions.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and my fingers started moving on their own.

* * *

Gokudera's POV

Gokudera was just minding his business. He then found himself in a piano store. It was true Gokudera was a piano prodigy, and he had unlimited potential. But now playing reminded him of _her,_ and it was too painful to bring his fingers to play again.

Gokudera was eyeing a Yamaha grand piano, one that reminded him of the one he used to play when he was little. Gokudera brought one of his hands to touch the keys, but then he heard music swell through the store.

'Whoever was playing the piano,' Gokudera thought, 'was someone who was quite gifted, or experienced.'

Then Gokudera froze. The music suddenly began to sound painfully familiar. It had the same melodic sophistication, which he had once tried to mimic before. Gokudera willed his feet to move toward the origin of the music. He audibly gasped when he arrived at the white Steinway and Sons piano. He only saw the back of the person playing, and she looked so much like someone he missed. Someone he knew could never be alive right now.

If Gokudera stayed conscious for just a second longer, he would have seen the girl turn around, looking at him with ice blue eyes, not the warm green ones he was used to seeing.

'Mother?' He thought, as he felt himself falling towards the ground.

* * *

Back to Ari POV

I closed my eyes, and let the music take me over. I didn't remember any old songs, I had learned, so I just made up an original composition right on the spot. I heard somebody gasp behind me, stopped playing, and turned around. There was a boy behind me who just looked like he saw a ghost. I just sat there and watched him fall face first to the ground. When he did hit the ground, I got up and walked over to him. I could only see the back of his head, and it was silver, much like my hair, and it stuck away from his face.

Suddenly a pink hair girl walked up to me. Wait...wasn't she staying at Tsuna's house? I'm pretty sure her name was Bianchi, and that we've met before.

"Here," she said, handing me a platter of…food? I'm pretty sure it was food, but it was purple, and oozing something. "Use this to wake Hayato up, I have to be somewhere." I looked at the plate I disgust, and saw the pink haired girl's retreating figure. I held my breath and waved the plate in front of his face. Even though his face was facing the ground, which just showed how potent this food was. He bolted up immediately, and I lost my grip on the plate of food. The plate slipped from my hands, and it went flying toward his face. The boy, who I now knew was Hayato, widened his eyes in fear, and then took out a stick of…dynamite? He threw the dynamite at the plate, and it successfully avoided hitting him in the face. He looked up at my face, and I saw…relief in his eyes.

"You, woman," he said gruffly. "That song you played earlier, where did you learn it?"

"Oh," I replied, "That song was something I made up right on the spot. I don't even remember what it was anymore."

"Well…" he said, looking me in the eye, "You remind me of somebody I used to know."

"Umm….thanks?"

A/N: Anybody else have that song in their head? You know, that song, 'I guess that I don't need that though, now you're just somebody I used to know.' Anyway Ari meets Gokudera! I think it's obvi who Ari looks like, so if you want to know what Ari looks like, she looks like Lavina, except with blue eyes. *Groan* I start summer school tomorrow, but that's ok, I'll still update. I have so many plans for this story, and it's probably going to be really long. Anyway, I'll try to update tomorrow, or something. Love you guys!


	9. Salt Hair, Don't Care

Target Eight: Salt Hair, Don't Care (Yuki POV)

'Today was going to be a good day,' I thought as I tore through my closet looking for something.

"I found it!" I cried triumphantly, as I held up a bright red bikini top, with matching red and white stripped bottoms. Today we were going to the beach, and by we, I mean Tsuna and company. I was missing this bikini since months ago, and it was my favorite swimsuit. But I found it, so all was well with the world.

I then started to get the rest of my outfit prepared. It's been the longest time since I visited the beach, and I wanted to look good. I picked out a pair of high waisted black shorts, and paired that with a white tank top, that had a ruffle going around the bust.

'Hmmm…' I thought, 'this outfit seems incomplete.' I then eyed a red flannel, and threw that on. 'Perfect! Now I can hit the beach looking my best. Father couldn't drive me, so I had to hitch a ride with Kyoko. She was also driving Haru.

"Hello!" I greeted brightly when I stepped into the car.

"Today is going to be so much fun~desu!" Haru replied, in her usually perky voice.

"Waaa, Yuki-chan, you look really kawaii today." Kyoko commented.

"Thank you! You guys look really cute too!" I complimented back.

Soon we made small talk, and the car ride was over in a jiffy. Kyoko's mom dropped us off, and told us to call her when we wanted to be picked up. She also told us not to stay too late, because we had to get back, and have enough time to prepare for the summer festival. We carried all our bags, and hit the beach. Everybody was already there, and Ari was standing there looking a bit awkward because of all the guys, and her attire.

"Ari-chan!" Kyoko called, as we all started waving our arms toward her. We then jogged over to everybody.

"Mina!" I yelled to let everybody know of our existence. I looked over at Yamamoto, who was _shirtless_ , and wearing blue swimming shorts. He was busy stabbing an umbrella into the ground, while simultaneously arguing with Gokudera over trivial matters. 'Hmmm…' I mused, 'Yamamoto looks really good shirtless, Gokudera on the other hand, looked like…an old man. He was wearing a Hawaiian-touristy type shirt, and that gray hair wasn't doing him any good either. Ari was looking pretty cute. She was wearing a flowy black and white striped tank top, with a key-hole cutout in the back. She was also wearing boy-short style bathing suit bottoms. I could see her black and white polka dotted bikini under. (That sounds creepy, but whatever.) The bathing suit was mature, but Ari managed to make it look innocent and age-appropriate. Even Haru was wearing a pink one piece, which made her look a lot younger than she was, and Kyoko was wearing a modest orange tankini.' I was so immersed in my thoughts that I spaced out, and missed the entire conversation. A tan buff guy wearing a Speedo put his hand on my shoulder, and that broke my train of thought.

"I call this one!" He sneered, an unpleasant tone of possessiveness in his voice.

I looked up and realized that Ari, Kyoko, and Haru were all surrounded by the lifeguards. I glared at the person eyeing Ari, "What are you, a pedo?" I asked in disgust, "She's freakin' twelve years old!"

Ari looked confused. "How do you know how old I am?" She hesitantly asked, "Do I know you?"

"Well, we've meet before, but you were asleep." I replied mentally face palming after I said that, because that sounded a lot creepier than I thought it would. (Curse my tongue for working faster than my brain!)

Before Ari could ask any more questions, or bring up the creepiness in my last statement, I turned to the lifeguard, whose hand was still on my shoulder.

"Paws off, gorilla," I said to the person touching me, removing his hand from my shoulder, "You aren't my type."

"Well you are!" He retorted, while looking at me. "Hey," He said addressing Tsuna and company, "You guys keep the peace on the beach; the girls can play with us." There was a sick glint in all their eyes.

I was seriously going to beat all their asses up, and it looked like Ari wanted to too, but before we could do anything, we were interrupted by Yamamoto.

"Hey!" Yamamoto yelled, his eyes narrowing. "Why should we do your work?"

"That's right!" agreed Gokudera, "We've got no reason to do _your_ work."

"Alright then," I heard the leader, (who had dreads, ewwww, and the one eyeing Kyoko) say. "I propose a swimming race. If you guys lose then we will leave you alone, if we win," he grabbed Kyoko's wrist and pulled her closer to him, ignoring her squeaks (yes, squeaks) of protest. "Then these beautiful ladies will have to go out on a date with us. Since there are four of them, and four of us, it is fair." He turned to his fellow life guards. "Boys, take your pick, and no fighting. I've already got dibs on Ryohei's little sister."

I wanted to gag as I heard the lifeguards argue about who was getting who.

"Hey, I already called the purple-eyed one." I heard Gorilla say. (Btw, I gave them nicknames, because I didn't know their names, and I definitely didn't want to find out, so nicknames it was.)

A/N: Quick little author's note, ohhhh, Yuki broke the fourth wall, meaning she addressed you, the audience. I think only Fran had done that so far, but Yuki, you rebel ;)

"No fair!" Baldy whined. And then he sighed, "I guess I'll go with the girl in the pink then, she seems really cute."

I heard Pedo snicker, "Alright! That means I get the one with white hair. She was the one I wanted anyway."

I used all my self-control not to kick him in the groin, right then and there. I looked over at Ari, and she was shaking. Not out of fear, but out of pure anger and spitefulness. Kyoko and Haru just looked really uncomfortable.

"Alright, we accept," I heard a young voice say. I can't believe I was surprised that it was Reborn's voice. 'Of course he would want this' I groaned mentally.

"We are going to accept on one condition," Tsuna said, sounding a lot more confident. "Only three of us are swimming, so it would be 3 on 3, not 4 on 4."

"Alright with us," I heard Gorilla reply, "Besides if all of us were competing, it's a guarantee that these lovely ladies will be ours after a few seconds."

"What are we, pieces of furniture?" I heard Ari snort, crossing her arms in defiance, "We don't _belong_ to anyone, certainly not to _revolting_ creatures like you."

"Seems like that little one has sass!" Baldy crowed. He turned to Pedo, "You have your work cut out for you."

Pedo smirked, "I always love a challenge." Ari turned a sickly shade of green, and looked like she was going to throw up right then and there. I couldn't blame her though. These guys couldn't help but make you feel nauseous, and like you want to cut your ears off with their cheesy pick up lines and statements.

"Alright, enough chit-chat," I heard Dreads say, "Let's get this race started!" And soon enough, Yamamoto and he were lined up on the shore. Since Ryohei wasn't competing (God help us if he was) Ryohei counted down.

"3…2…1…GO!" He screamed, fist pumping the air. The two boys shot off, and in no time were swimming like torpedoes. The boys were neck and neck, and it was hard to see who was in the lead. But things started to go wrong when the two boys rounded the rock, but only one came back. And he wasn't Yamamoto.

We immediately knew something was wrong, when Dreads returned back on shore, with Yamamoto nowhere to be found.

"One down, two to go!" I heard Dreads say to the rest of his friends.

Next were Gokudera and Baldy. They soon shot off, and were neck and neck, but when both of them disappeared behind the rock, we again, only saw Baldy come back. With a victorious smirk on his face he turned to Haru.

"You're mine now little missy!" He sneered, and Haru turned a few shades paler.

"Yuki catch!" I heard somebody say. I immediately whipped my head around, and saw Ari with a volley ball in her hands. She spiked the ball toward me, but she obviously was aiming for Baldy. The ball hit him square in the face, and he fell backward on his butt.

"Whoops," Ari laughed, an innocent smile plastered on her face, "My hand slipped." She turned to me and whispered in my ear,

"I hope he got sand in his Speedo."

"Me too," I giggled.

It was now Tsuna and Gorilla's turn, Pedo wasn't competing, and he used that time to stare at Ari instead. They were neck to neck, until everybody heard a cry. There was a little girl with an inflatable tube drifting off, deeper and deeper into the sea.

"Help!" She cried, but the lifeguard paid no heed, and continued swimming on his original path. Tsuna heard her though, and changed his course, and started swimming toward the little girl. Tsuna reached the little girl, and everybody cheered. I guess people weren't blessed with my eyesight, because I saw Tsuna sinking. 'He must have gotten a leg cramp,' I thought, panicking a little. But then I heard the all too familiar sound of a gunshot. 'Oh god, Reborn must have shot him with a dying will bullet.' My eyes widened in sudden realization. 'What if his swimming trunks fly off?' I thought, definitely panicking. 'Oh god, there were so many little children here, and that would definitely scar them for life.

"Reborn!" I could hear Tsuna yell as he jumped out of the water, with his thankfully intact swim shorts. His feet looked like propellers as he got to the shore in record time.

* * *

When everybody calmed down, Tsuna approached the little girl again.

"Hi," He said while smiling, "Are you doing ok?"

"Who are you?" The little girl asked.

"Umm…I was the one who saved you…" Tsuna replied, looking confused.

"No you weren't," The little girl replied back, "The one who saved me looked a lot more ogre like than you, like him," and we all followed her finger until we could see who she was pointing at. Ari, Kyoko, Haru and I all burst out laughing. She was pointing to none other than Dreads.

"Thank you, Ogre-sama for saving me!" The little girl said with an innocent smile and wide eyes. This statement caused the lifeguard to drop dead from embarrassment. She then turned and winked at all of us, and then walked away in the sunset with her Mom.

"Do you think that little girl knew what she was doing?" Haru asked, a little miffed, because a 5-year old managed to make fun of a guy triple her age.

"Seriously, what is wrong with the youngsters of this era?" Ari asked while shaking her head.

A/N: Yay! Another chapter done, this one was a pretty long one. (For my standards anyway.) My sister seems to think that my chapters are too short, and she thinks that short chapters are a waste of time. I personally think long chapters are kinda boring, and I tend to find myself skipping half of it Anyway, today was the first day of summer school, and all we did was take a test. Uhg. Next chapter is Ari's first summer festival! Look forward to it!

Question of the day: Do you guys prefer long chapters or shorter ones? Review?


	10. Summer Festival

Target Nine: Summer Festival! (Ari POV)

"Seriously, what is wrong with the youngsters of this era?" I asked while shaking my head.

All the girls just looked at me and shrugged until Kyoko's phone started ringing. She picked it up, and I'm pretty sure it was her mom. After a short conversation, Kyoko turned to us and smiled.

"Kaa-san is here, so let's go! We have to shower first, and then get ready for the summer festival!" Kyoko said, all perky. Haru, and that creepy girl squealed in delight. I think the girl felt my gaze on her back, because she turned around and winked at me.

'The hell?' I thought. 'She was getting creepier by the second.'

We all piled into Kyoko's mom's car, and drove back to her house. We decided earlier, that it would be easier if we all got ready together at Kyoko's place. I was so excited to wear the yukata I just bought, even though I was a little nervous because I have never worn a yukata before. I was very happy with my choice, though.

I was so immersed in my thoughts that we arrived at Kyoko's house in no time.

"Mina!" Kyoko said, getting everybody's attention. "There are three showers in this house, one in my room, and one in the main bathroom. I doubt you guys would want to use Onii-san's bathroom, so we'll have to be quick!" She giggled.

"Actually," I piped up, "I don't mind using Ryohei's bathroom. The salt is sucking the moisture out of my hair and face, and I really need a shower. Plus, Haru already called the main bathroom."

"Are you sure, Ari-chan?" Kyoko asked me, concerned.

"It's fine, it's fine," I waved her off, "It doesn't matter to me anyway."

She nodded, and showed me to Ryohei's room. I wasn't surprised when I saw a bunch of boxing related stuff in his room. His room was relatively neat though, compared to Tsuna's room. I shuddered when the image of Tsuna's dirty messy room implanted itself in my brain.

'That boy,' I thought, shaking my head as I walked into the bathroom, 'He really needs to learn to take care of himself, Maman's not going to take care of him forever.'

When, I got in the shower, I scrubbed my hair and body until I felt impeccably clean. Since it was just the girls and Kyoko's mom at home, I wrapped a towel around myself, and wrapped another one on my head as a towel turban. I then stepped out of the bathroom, humming contently because I didn't smell like seaweed anymore.

Since the towel was falling of my head, I removed it, bent down, and proceeded to wrap my soaking wet hair in the towel again. When I flipped my hair up, I was not prepared to see what I saw.

* * *

(Guess whose POV this is? Trust me it's not that hard.)

I looked up from the boxing magazine I was reading, and saw something I was not expecting. Sure I saw the light in my bathroom was on, but I easily forgot about it, as I settled down on my bed to read my boxing. People were still talking about the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight.

Anyway, when I looked, I saw a towel-clad Ari, with another towel on her head. She looked at me with an equal look of surprise on her face. We kind of stared at each other for a little, with a mixed reaction of surprise, shock, and a little horror. This awkward atmosphere was killing me, plus it was so silent. I had to break this awkward silence somehow.

"…A-ano….You are dripping water all over my floor, Ari-chan."

"…" (*Awkward silence continues as Ari walks to the door, opens it, walks out, and then closes it.*)

* * *

As I was walking down the hallway to Kyoko's room, I couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. OMG, it was so awkward. Well whatever, I'll just brush it off or something. When I opened the door, all three girls were in lounge clothes and bouncing around. The girl with the weird hair looked at me.

"Hi, I'm Yuki, and what the hell took you so long?" She asked bluntly. I was taken aback at her question, and the scene with Ryohei popped into my mind again. I groaned and flopped down on Kyoko's soft bed.

"Well, I had a really awkward encounter with Ryohei just now," I said, my voice muffled by the bed, but everybody seemed to understand what I was saying.

"Ehhh?" Haru screamed, "You mean he saw you in a towel~desu?"

"Ano….yes?" I said, my face still buried in Kyoko's fluffy blanket. When I looked up, I expected everybody to look at me with disgust, but when I saw their faces I was confused. They were trying to stifle smiles, and giggles, but were horribly failing.

"W-why are you guys laughing?" I questioned, thoroughly confused.

"Because it's funny, you baka!" Yuki said, while playfully throwing a pillow at my face.

I growled, and grabbed another pillow, but there are limits to what you can do when you are only wearing a towel, so I missed and hit Haru instead.

"Pillow fight!" Haru squealed in excitement, as she grabbed the pillow I threw at her and playfully whacked Kyoko. I couldn't help but smile at everybody, as they forced me to participate in this cliché, and girly pillow fight. I smiled to myself, and glanced up, only to meet Yuki's bright purple eyes. She seemed to know exactly what I was thinking, because she flashed a bright smile at me, and then all I saw was white.

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 **THE END**

Just kidding! I didn't die; I just had a pillow thrown in my face by Yuki.

* * *

"OMG, the summer festival is going to start soon~desu!" Haru squealed in anticipation.

"If you guys don't hurry up, we aren't going to the festival," I snorted, and Yuki gave my hair an especially hard tug.

"Whoops, my hand slipped. Plus you hair is just so thick, my god."

Apparently Yuki, and Haru, made the mistake of trying to deal with my hair. My hair was thick, and frizzy, and it had a mind of its own.

"Wait 'till you see what I can do with it." Yuki stated, confident in her hair skills.

"Haru, Kyoko, you guys work on your own makeup and hair, ok?" Yuki asked. "I'll deal with Ari's devil hair."

"Ok," The two girls nodded, and busied themselves with their own hair.

A few minutes later, Yuki managed to twist my super thick hair into a pretty neat bun, but it was still a little messy. She let my baby hairs fall out, and arranged them in a presentable fashioned. She then took a curling iron, and curled the hair around my face, even though the strands were slightly wavy. Yuki smirked in satisfaction.

"There," She said smugly, "Don't ever doubt my skills. Wait until I put makeup on you; no one will even recognize you." I blanched at that thought. I wanted people to recognize me. Yuki seemed to see my troubled face, and she laughed. (God, I think that girl had physic powers like Tsuna did.)

"It's ok," She reassured me, "People will recognize you; you will just look different."

Yuki then told me to put my yukata on, and I told her I didn't know how. She just clucked her tongue at me, "Just put it on your body," She said, "We will deal with the details."

I pulled my beautiful, teal blue yukata on, and admired it. I was so happy with y choice, and couldn't wait to show it to everybody, well everybody who hasn't seem my yukata. Yuki saw me walk out in it, and nodded in approval.

"That blue compliments your eyes," She said, weirdly nice. But then I realized why. Yuki, smiled at me wickedly, grabbed the silver obi, and wrapped me in it so tight, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"H-help…" I managed to wheeze, as Yuki just looked at me and smiled.

"Don't move too much Ari-chan," She said sickly sweet, "If you move too much, you will mess up your hair." I gulped as I felt a deadly aura surround her.

I couldn't help but notice how pretty everybody looked. Kyoko was looking as sweet as ever, in her powder blue yukata with goldfish, and Haru looked equally as cute in her yellow yukata, with clovers all over. But my eyes immediately gravitate toward Yuki's yukata, which was a stunning deep burgundy color, with white orchids, and gold accents. She looked stunning, and mature with a totally different air than Kyoko and Haru.

"Well, let's get our butts to the summer festival!" I called out giddily.

* * *

The streets were decked out in lanterns, and streets vendors lined up on either side, trying to get people to visit their stalls. I couldn't look at one thing for more than a second; for fear that I would miss seeing something else. So I probably looked really weird, but whatever.

I spied the chocolate banana stall, and pointed to it.

"That's right!" Kyoko cried, "It wouldn't be the summer festival if we didn't get choco banana!"

"What are we waiting for then?" Yuki asked a knowing smile on her face. "Let's go!"

We all ran (correction: tried to run, because our wooden sandals and yukatas did not permit movement, so we actually shuffled. Read; Yuki, Kyoko, and Haru elegantly glided across the ground, while I awkwardly shuffled.)

When we reached the stall, we all said, "Four choco bananas please!" I was surprised to see Tsuna.

"Waaa, you guys are working a stall?" Kyoko asked, smiling at them. From my side view next to Kyoko I saw Gokudera and Yamamoto pop their heads out.

"Yo," Yamamoto greeted cheerfully.

"Stupid women," Gokudera muttered under his breath. "Distracting us from our sales."

I saw Tsuna visibly blush when he saw Kyoko. I looked at him and smirked, and that only caused him to blush even harder.

'That guy was really an open book when it came to his emotions,' I thought, still grinning at him.

"Awww…" I heard Kyoko say, with a hint of disappointment in her voice, "If you guys are working a stall, then you can't watch the fireworks with us."

"Oh, trust me they will," I heard Yuki say sweetly, but I caught the threat embedded in that statement. The three boys gulped and nodded.

"Well, we will be off having fun, while you guys sell bananas!" I yelled from over my shoulder, teasingly. I was already pulling Kyoko away. "Time to have some fun!"

We visited a ton of the booths, and ate lots of traditional Japanese festival foods, like choco banana, candy apples, and of course, takoyaki. As we were walking on the main road, suddenly a shady looking guy, with a hat low on his face, ran past us, bumping into me as he ran away. I heard a familiar voice calling after him, and turned around to see a frantic Tsuna running after the masked man. I would've run after the guy, if I wasn't wearing a yukata. (Those things were freakin hard to walk in.) I felt somebody grab my arm.

"Kyoko, Haru, Ari and I will be over there for a while ok? Don't worry we will be back to watch the fireworks with you guys." I heard Yuki say, as she started dragging me away. I turned to look at her confused, but when I saw the look on her face I already knew what was going to happen. Whoever took Tsuna's money; we were going to whoop their asses.

As we reached the top of the stairs, I saw the people I really did not want to see. The pervy lifeguards were standing there looking smug, as Tsuna was begging for the money back. I heard the leader rant on about how they were thieves, and that this didn't satisfy them enough. Then they saw us. Oh god.

"What do you know? It seems that we will be satisfied after all." The leader said with a very nasty expression on his face. Tsuna looked at us in shock, "Why are you guys here?" He asked, in concern, "It's very dangerous."

"Tsuna, trust me, we can take care of ourselves," Yuki said.

"That's right," I piped in, "Guys always writing us girls off as weak, I'm sick of it. Plus we will just be your backup, we can't move anyway."

"I thought I found a delicious little flock, and it turned out to be the big catch of thieves I've been after." Hearing this, Yuki, Tsuna, and I all whipped our head around to find somebody. Tsuna squeaked out of fear, and Yuki just looked unimpressed.

"Ahh…Yuki?" I asked getting her attention, "Who is that dude?"

"Oh, he's just the leader of the Disciplinary Committee. And a freaking blood-thirsty bastard." She added under her breath. The guys surrounding us were not deterred by this Hibari's appearance.

"Come, on they are just middle schoolers, what harm can they do?" One guy said cockily.

Yuki and I looked at each other and smirked. Oh we could do a lot of damage, if we wanted too, and Yuki seemed to know that.

There was a large explosion, and when the smoke cleared, we could see Yamamoto and Gokudera.

"You think you can start a fight without us?" Gokudera grumbled.

"Ahahaha, that's sounds fun," Yamamoto added.

Soon, they were with us in the middle of the circle. (How they got there, I still have no idea.)

I turned around, and grinned at Tsuna.

"You can keep your clothes on Tsuna, we got this. Plus, you wouldn't want Kyoko-chan to see you in your boxers would you?" I smirked as he turned red.

'Well they were going to find out sooner or later, so I took some of my kunai from my sleeve, and started throwing them at people. I looked over at Yuki, and she had a gun in her hand. Tsuna started getting all freaked out by it, but she flashed him a grin.

"It's fine Tsuna, this baby is my special gun which fires needles coated in a tranquilizer."

There was a man aiming for Hibari's back, but Hibari was preoccupied and didn't see him, so Yuki turned around and shot him. His face contorted and he fell to the ground twitching.

"The effects should wear off in about 30 minutes, and you should really watch your back, Kyoya." Yuki taunted mockingly.

Since Yuki and I couldn't move because of our yukatas, we basically just stood there and threw, or shot at people. The fight was over quickly, and that Hibari guy was going to take Tsuna's money anyway, but then decided not to. Soon Kyoko and Haru came running up with Fuuta, with Fuuta saying that this was the best spot to watch fireworks.

Once we all settled down on the grass, I looked around and saw everyone's smiling and content faces. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, a feeling I have never experienced before.

'Please,' I thought, not sure if I was praying to God, or some other deity, 'Let it always be like this. Let us always be this happy.'

A/N: That took me a long to write….mainly because of procrastination, but now you know what Ari and Yuki's weapons are! Ari had kunai that she throws, and Yuki has guns, (cliché, I know, but guns seemed to fit Yuki's personality the best.) This chapter was super long too, so I hoped you guys enjoyed! Btw, that scene where Ari thought she died, because the last thing she saw was white. That was a true story. My sister was drinking milk one time, and just had to spit it on my face, and for two seconds I seriously thought I died. Like…no joke. Anyway Read and Review!


	11. Nicknames, Naïveté, and Nighttime, Oh my

Target Ten: Nicknames, Naïveté, and Nighttime, Oh my. (Yuki POV)

Standard disclaimer applies ;)

Today was the day that everyone has been dreading. Everyone except me it seems. Today Nami-Chuu would merge with Midori Middle School, and go on an overnight retreat together. There was also an all boys school going, but they are irrelevant.

"Miina!" I called out waving everybody over to where I was standing. Our school rented huge charter buses, so that everybody in our grade could fit in them. Midori was going in another bus, and the other random all boys school in another bus. I briefly spotted Ari talking with Haru before they disappeared into their bus.

"Yo," Yamamoto said, his grin never leaving his face, "Aren't you guys super excited for this retreat?"

"Shut up yakyu-baka, this retreat is going to be anything but fun," Gokudera muttered with a scowl on his face.

"Now, now, Gokudera-kun," I clucked, "This retreat is a chance for all of us to get closer, and work on our team bonding skills!" I shot an evil smile toward Tsuna. "And maybe if we are lucky," I continued, that evil smirk on my face, "And maybe, if fate decides to play nice today, a certain someone will be in the same small group as Kyoko-chan." My smirk got even wider as I saw Tsuna's face turn really red.

"Alright everybody, get in your assigned bus!" The head teacher yelled. We will be departing in ten minutes so hurry up!" We all hurried to get into our assigned bus. Ryohei was joining us as one of the team leaders. Nobody wanted to be in his small group. Gokudera was sitting next to Tsuna, obviously, Kyoko was sitting next to Hana, and I was sitting next to Yamamoto.

"Ne, Ya-ma-mo-to," I said, purposely dragging out his name. "Can I call you something else, something shorter?"

"Sure thing, Yuki-chan. It's like a nickname right?" Yamamoto turned to me, and gave me one of his signature smiles.

"Can I call you Yam-kun? Or perhaps, Yammy-kun?" I asked, "I do like yams very much."

"Eto….sure Yuki-chan, you can call me Yammy-kun." Yammy laughed. The rest of the bus ride flew by. I did spend most of it asleep though. I was not a morning person, and it was 6 AM in the morning.

When we got out of the bus, and gathered all our belongings, the head team leader, Kairi-sensei got out attention.

"Alright everybody, listen up! We wanted this retreat to be a memorable experience for you guys, so we let all of you pick your own cabins!" She paused as the girls excitedly murmured.

"Now don't make us regret it, and don't leave anybody out 'kay? Girls' cabins are up the hill to the left, and boys' cabins are up the hill and to the right. Time to go over some of the rules! Do not disrespect this area! We are in nature, and if we find one of you has made a mess, you will personally clean the entire retreat center for a whole day, missing out on all the fun activities, like the low ropes course and everything else!" Kairi-sensei paused a little to catch her breath. I wondered how she could project her voice like that, and not lose her voice the next day. I guess she was like Ryohei.

"Now we have Ryohei-kun to start say the next few rules."

"Alright!" Ryohei yelled into the mic, making it give feedback, and everybody covered their ears. Ryohei seemed totally oblivious to this, blinked a few times, and continued screaming into the mic.

"Sorry to the extreme! Anyway what do blue and pink mixed together make?" We all looked at him confused, but we answered that it made purple.

"That's right kids, boys are blue, and girls are pink. If we catch any of you making purple, you will have to do a punishment with your significant other. Ok, now we got that out of the way, all of you will be receiving nametags in a few minutes. Keep your nametags on at all times! That is your source of identification, and if you forget it, you will have to dance in front of everybody!" Ryohei paused to let that sink in. "Alright! Now pick your cabins and meet us back here at 9. You have a little bit of free time, but please do not leave your cabins. And also people from the different schools can mix; you just cannot mix boys and girls. Right, NOW HAVE FUN TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled fist pumping, and there was a mad scramble because everybody was trying to find a group to share a cabin with. Immediately I was grabbed by Kyoko, and we separated Ari and Haru from their school.

"Isn't this so fun guys?" Kyoko asked smiling, "We all get to share a cabin together!"

"Whoever I'm sharing a bunk bed with I want the top~desu!" Haru declared.

"Whoever I'm sharing a bunk bed with, I call the bottom," I chimed in. "I have enough bad experiences of falling of the top bunk bed." We all split off into pairs to share bunk beds with. I was with Ari, Kyoko was with Hana, and Haru was with some girl from Midori whose name was Aika. We spent the 45 minutes of free time unpacking, and getting settled. When it was 8:54, we all headed down the hill to the meeting spot. Ari and I made eye contact with Tsuna's group, and they all headed over to us.

"Hey, guys," Yammy said casually, slinging his arm around Ari's shoulders, making her cringe. Yammy didn't seem to notice this, and he continued smiling.

"I hope we are all in the same group!" He also said. We all nodded.

"It would be really fun to be in a group with all of you guys!" Kyoko agreed, and Tsuna turned bright red at this statement. We ignored Hana's muttering about how the boys were monkeys, and she wasn't interested in them.

"Alright guys!" Ryohei yelled getting everybody to quiet down. I don't think he even needed the mike, his voice was loud enough.

"We will now give you your small groups. This group is who you will spend most of your time with, so don't complain with who you are with. Alright now, group one. I am your small group leader and this is who is in it. Sawada Tsunayoshi, Kawahira Yuki, Sasagawa Kyoko, Miura Haru, Yamamoto Takeshi, Gokudera Hayato, and Matsuki Arisa." Ryohei continued reading the groups, but I wasn't listening. I'm pretty sure Reborn had something to do with who was in which group.

After everybody got in all their groups, our group broke away from everybody, and sat under the shade of a huge oak tree.

"Now," Ryohei said, "I would usually start with introductions, but we all know each other pretty well," We all nodded in agreement.

"So since we can skip introductions, let's jump right into our first team building activity to the extreme!" Ryohei pointed to a hula hoop that was suspended in the air by a piece of rope tied to one of the branches on the tree.

"Now, as you can see, there is a hula hoop hanging from the ground. The purpose of this activity is to have everybody go through the hula hoop without touching it. But once you go through the hula hoop, you have to sit down. You cannot help the rest of your group anymore."

After explaining the instructions, Ryohei let us have five minutes to discuss our strategy. We decided that I would go through the hoop first, because I was the smallest. I thought that I could just simply step through the hula hoop, but it was hanging too high off the ground, and I was too short. So I literally had to be carried through the hoop with Yammy carrying my head, and Gokudera carrying my feet. Next we carried Tsuna through, since he was pretty short too. Then Ari got carried through, followed by Haru and Kyoko. The last two people in our group that still had to go through the hula hoop were Yammy and Gokudera. Gokudera just simply stepped through the hoop, because he was tall enough, but Yammy wanted to jump through it. He took off with a running start and dove through the hoop, rolling as he hit the ground.

"Whoo, that was fun!" He exclaimed, as he got off the ground, brushing the leaves off of him.

"Very good," Ryohei commented, "You guys made it through that activity really quickly. Was it easy?" We all nodded our heads. "Ok then, let's go on to a harder game!" Ryohei led us down the hill to a spot with a log.

"Everybody get on the log!" He commanded. We all just picked a spot on the log and stood on it, making sure not to fall off. "Alright! Now you guys will have to get in order by your birthdays! Oldest goes on the farthest right side and youngest goes on the left side, at the end. Now get in order to the extreme!" We started saying our birthdays, but we were interrupted by Ryohei, "Oh, and I forgot to tell you, there is another catch." We all groaned at this, "Two people will be blindfolded, and those two people will be Tsuna and Yuki!" I groaned, and saw that Tsuna turned very pale. We all knew that he was super clumsy, and now he was blindfolded? This was going to be a long activity.

This is how we were currently lined up on the log. Yammy was at the end on the right side, then Gokudera, Tsuna, Haru, Kyoko, Ari, and last was me. Then Ryohei put blindfolds on Tsuna and I, and I was basically useless now. Once everybody finished telling what their birthday was, we started shifting. Since Tsuna and I were blindfolded, they opted to deal with us last. Ari was on my right side, and she had to switch over to my left side because she was the youngest. She told me to step back as far as I could without falling off. Ari then tried to step in front of me, but I lost my footing, and almost fell off. I felt myself falling until I grabbed something, and pulled myself back up.

"Umm…Yuki," I heard Ari say, "You're grabbing my butt…." Once I regained my balance, and Ari was on my left side, I let go of her, and muttered a sheepish apology.

"Wow! Ari, you just saved Yuki! That was amazing to the extreme!" Tsuna fell off the log a million times, and just to torture us, Ryohei kept on putting him back on the farthest right side, the opposite side where he was supposed to be. After a few more minutes, I heard everybody say that they were in position; Tsuna just had to get on the other side of Gokudera. Once they did it, and I heard that Gokudera had to carry Tsuna, I took off my blindfold. Yeah, I totally felt closer after that…

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing other activities with our small group. On the activities that needed a strategy, Ari was always the one that came up with one, since she is the child genius. Soon, it was already night, and everybody had just finished dinner. We all gathered outside, and Ryohei once again got our attention with his loud voice.

"Everybody get in your small groups!" He yelled. Once everybody was in their assigned small group, Ryohei started talking, (actually yelling).

"This is a game you will play with your small groups. In your small groups, you will break off into pairs, and if there is an odd number, the team leader may play as well. The leader will secretly choose a pair to be 'outlaws.' If you are the outlaws, then you and your partner will get a special flashlight. When turned on this flashlight has a red light. Refrain from using this flashlight as a source of light, this flashlight has a special purpose. Also in your small group, the leader will choose another pair to be the murderers. The murderers' objective is to find the pair designated as the 'outlaws' group, and 'kill them. And by kill them, I mean you need to flash them with your special flashlight, which has purple light. The 'outlaw' group, their objective is to find the murderers' before you get killed by them, and to flash them with their red light. There is one more group though. Another pair will be chosen as the sheriff. Their job is to find the murderers before they kill the outlaws, or before the outlaws kill them. So basically murderers are trying to kill the outlaws, Sheriffs are trying to catch the murders before they kill the outlaws, and the outlaws are trying to kill everybody. The outlaws will win once they have killed everybody in the small group, the murderers will win once they have killed the outlaws and the sheriffs, and the sheriffs will win once they have apprehended the murderers before they kill the outlaws. Oh and the sheriffs have a yellow light. This is basically like flashlight tag. Okay? Everybody have fun to the extreme!" Ryohei joined our group, once he finished distributing the flashlights.

"Here are your pairs!" He announced, "Ari is with Gokudera, Yuki is with Yamamoto, Haru is with Tsuna, and since I am playing too, Kyoko is with me! Everybody heads down; I will now pass out the special flashlights that will tell you your role. Only one person in your pair has to stick your hand out. Yammy told me to stick my hand out, and I did. A few seconds later there was a flashlight pressed into my palm.

"Alright guys, everybody scatter! But don't go pass our designated area; you might interfere with another group." Immediately I took off sprinting with Yammy following at my heels. I stopped to catch my breath behind a tree, and I motioned for Yammy to come closer. I told him to cup his hands, and I shined the flashlight in his hands to check what color it was. It was red.

"Yay, Yammy, we are the outlaws! Now we just have to kill everybody to win!"

"Alright Yuki, this is just like the mafia game!" He laughed. I sweat dropped. After all this time Yammy still thought it was a game. Whatever, he will accept it sooner or later. I suddenly heard rustling, and I hid behind a bush. I motioned for Yammy to crouch down next to me. I tried to pinpoint where the noise came from, but I couldn't, then Yammy poked me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Yuki, I think the noise is coming from behind that tree," He said while pointing to the tree we were just standing behind. I heard another noise, and I stood up, and pointed my flashlight at the figure behind the tree.

"Onii-chan, it looks like they got us," I heard Kyoko's voice say. I saw Ryohei step out from behind the tree.

"Good job to the extreme! Now you just have to kill the other two groups and you will win. Oh and I almost forgot, we weren't anything, so the murderers and the sheriffs are still out there. Good luck."

Yam and I looked at each other and smiled. Looks like we are one step closer to wining this thing.

A/N: OMG guys, the Varia Arc is going to start soon, and I'm sooo excited! I hope you guys are too! Sorry this took so long to write, this chapter is just fluff though. I have the rest of the chapters planed out though, so it will probably take me less time to upload a new chapter. Anyway thank you to MagicAssassinDogDemon for being my first review! You will have a special place in my heart. Until next time! ~


	12. Kidnapping, Killing, and King's Ransom

Target Eleven: Kidnapping, Killing, and King's Ransom, Oh my.

Today was the day I was dreading. Today was the day that I had to go on an overnight retreat. Sensei insisted that this retreat would strengthen our bonds as a class, and we would do team building activities to help us get closer.

'Strengthen bonds my ass,' I scoffed, 'Not like I made any anyway...'

So today was that dreaded day. Some girls were squealing about how they would finally see some boys, since Midori was combining with Nami-Chuu, and an all boy's school. Haru came up to me, excitement written all over her face.

"Isn't this retreat going to be soooooo fun~desu?" Haru asked, squealing.

"Yeah, this retreat is going to be so fun" I replied in a monotone, my voice dripping with fake enthusiasm. (Well, as enthusiastic as you can get when speaking in a monotone.)

Haru just laughed and before I could tell her I was being very sarcastic, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into our designated bus. She didn't even give me the time to say anything because once we were seated; she of course pulled me down next to her, her mouth started moving faster than I could process her words. I sighed softly, and sunk down into my seat, half listening to Haru's ramblings about how the overnight part was going to be fun, and _boys_ , she could not stop talking about boys. Well I guess that happens when you go to an all girl's school, you get deprived of contact with the male species. I was ok, I guess, because I was staying at Tsuna's house, and his _male_ friends came over more often than not.

I soon found myself asleep, lulled to Dreamland, by the bus's motion, and Haru's voice. (Yes, she was still talking, and I'm pretty sure she was still talking even though I was asleep.) I had the weirdest dream too. It went something like this:

There was a weird man with blue hair, shaped like a pineapple. Then it switched to a scene with a fierce looking man, with scars all over his face throw an empty wine bottle at another man, with impossibly long silver hair. The scene shifted once again to 8 rings in a box. There was one ring that seemed to stick out more than the others though. It was pure black, and it seemed so familiar. I wanted to grab it and put it on. I also felt like I saw that ring somewhere before. Right…I _did_ see it before.

And it was on my finger.

I woke up from that strange dream with a start because Haru was shaking my shoulders. I immediately recoiled at the touch, but Haru paid no attention.

"We are here~desu!" Haru squealed so loudly that I'm pretty sure the whole bus heard. I turned to her and motioned her to be quiet, but again, Haru was lost in her thoughts again. I stretched, and looked out the window. The retreat center was truly set in a scenic place. There was the parking lot, but then near that was a lush green field that seemed to stretch forever. There was also a hill, and a huge building was on top of it.

'Hmmm….' I mused to myself, 'Maybe these two days aren't going to be that bad after all…'

The rest of that morning was spent getting settled in our cabins. I was of course with Yuki, Kyoko, Hana, and Haru. There were also some other girls in our cabin as well. Yuki called the bottom bed, so I had the top bunk bed.

When it was 8:54 all of us walked down the hill and met Tsuna's group. The person in charge of the retreat started out by saying some rules, and then Ryohei took over screaming some more rules into the mic. Then everybody got their small groups. I was in a small group with Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, Yuki, Kyoko, and Haru. It was such a lovely coincidence that we were all in the same group. And Ryohei happened to be our small group leader as well. We did a lot of small group activities, that were supposed to be 'team building' activities, but most of the time it would lead to our group arguing over what was the best way to approach the activity. Yamamoto would just want to dive into the activity, and figure out while we were actually doing it; Gokudera pulled out a whiteboard out of nowhere, and started forming an overly complicated strategic plan. Tsuna was trying to calm everybody down, Kyoko and Haru were just laughing, Yuki looked like she wanted to shoot them all, and I was just sitting there quietly.

Our first activity involving a hula hoop, and being carried was completed with no trouble. The second activity, which involved us standing on a log, was a little harder and involved sexual assault. And by that I mean Yuki grabbing my butt when she almost fell off the log. But she was blindfolded, so I couldn't blame her. We did a bunch of other little activity like this, and some of them actually involved thinking, and a strategy. Before our group knew it, we just finished eating dinner, and everybody was outside mingling.

Ryohei got our attention by screaming, and after a very long, and over complicated explanation of a game that involved flashlights (I wasn't even listening half the time) Ryohei told us to get back into out small groups. I pushed my way past the sea of people, and finally made it to where everybody was standing. The Ryohei put us into pairs. I was with Gokudera. I would be lying if I said it wasn't a little awkward between us. I mean, he did think I was his dead mother. (I found this out from Reborn, who happened to witness the whole, 'Gokudera fainting because I was playing the piano,' event.) We didn't really talk that much, and the only words he said to me were,

"You, woman, stick out your hand, and get our flashlight."

I obliged, and a few seconds later I was holding a flashlight. Ryohei told us to scatter, and immediately Gokudera and I took off running. We paused behind a bush, and I checked what color our flashlight was. It was purple. I was racking my brain, trying to remember what the purple light was. I couldn't and I turned to Gokudera,

"Ano…Gokudera? Do you remember what the purple light means?" I asked sheepishly.

"Tch, woman. Did you not listen to Ryohei's explanation? The purple light means we are the murderers. We have to kill the outlaws before the sheriff catches us." He looked at me in disgust. "You seriously didn't hear anything Ryohei said did you?"

"Nope," I deadpanned. I could just imagine Gokudera face palming right there. Suddenly we heard rustling coming from a bush a few meters in front of us. Gokudera roughly grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into a crouching position next to him.

"Be quiet, woman, it might be the outlaw group. We can end this stupid game here and now. On my signal, you will jump out and flash that group ok?"

I nodded, and readied my flashlight. I looked over at Gokudera to give me the signal. We stayed still for a few moments, and my legs were cramping up, until her turned to me and held up a three with his fingers. He slowly counted down, and when he reached zero fingers, I jumped out and flashed the bush. I waited for the group to come out, but it was silent.

"Oi, you guys, I got yo-," Suddenly a piece of cloth was clamped over my nose and mouth, and I struggled to get free. A sickly sweet floral scent, invaded my nostrils, and I concluded that I was being kidnapped. I brought my arm backward, and hit the assailant with the flashlight. Despite my struggling, the person managed to keep an iron grip on me. I could feel the grip loosening when I started to lose consciousness. The last thing I thought, before my mind got hazy, and I gave in to the darkness was Gokudera.

* * *

Gokudera POV (Well technically, third person limited.)

Gokudera waited patiently behind the bush for Ari to come back, and tell him that the coast was clear. He then heard Ari's voice, but she was cut off mid-sentence. Then he heard sounds of a struggle. 'Whoever this group was, they were taking this game way to seriously. After all, this was just a game.' Gokudera thought. After the continued sound of feet scuffling, and now there was sounds of a muffled voice, Gokudera knew something was wrong. He jumped out from behind the bush, and managed to make out two figures in the darkness. One had to be Ari, and there was somebody much bigger standing behind her. He (the person definitely looked male) was clamping something over Ari's mouth, and Gokudera's eyes widened in realization. This guy was trying to kidnap Ari! Before Gokudera could do anything to help, a cloth was pressed over his own nose and mouth too. Gokudera tried not to inhale the sweet scent, it smelled like rotten candy, and tried to fight back, but the perpetrator was much too strong. Gokudera managed to grab one of his dynamites, but then realized that he couldn't light it. Also, if he did light the dynamite, it would greatly harm himself, and the person. Gokudera stopped struggling when he heard the scuffling noises die down. "Ari must have passed out,' was the last thing he thought.

* * *

When I came to, my head was pounding, and my stomach was tying itself into knots.

"Did somebody spike my drink?" I groaned, "Because I'm pretty sure this is what a hangover feels like." I heard somebody scoff behind me.

"Stupid woman," I heard Gokudera mutter, "Did you inhale too much chloroform, you already forgot what happened?" I paused, and thought about his statement for a little bit. I also took this time to assess the situation we were in. It seemed like Gokudera and I were in one of the abandoned cabins. We were currently sitting on the floor, which was littered with trash and whiskey bottles. Gokudera and I were tied back to back, and I had separate ropes tying my wrists together. I'm pretty sure he did too. Then it hit me. I remembered the sickly sweet scent, struggling, and losing consciousness.

"Why the hell would somebody kidnap us?" I blurted out loud, because that's what I was thinking.

"Tch," Gokudera scoffed, "You don't know do you?"

"I don't know what?" I asked him confused.

"You don't know that Tsuna is next in line to be boss for the biggest and most influential mafia group. Tsuna is going to become Vongola Decimo, and take over the Vongola." Gokudera deadpanned. I just sat there in shock, and tried to process what he just told me. 'Vongola,' I thought, 'Why does that word sound so familiar?" I dove into my memories trying to remember when I had heard that word before, because I was positive this wasn't the first time I heard 'Vongola.' I gasped out loud, and Gokudera jumped a little.

"What is it know? Do you not believe me?" He asked gruffly. But I remembered now. I didn't hear that word, I _saw_ that word. I saw it on the ring I had the weird dream about. To say I was confused would be an understatement. I was thoroughly perplexed. 'What was the connection between the rings and Tsuna? Why did one of the rings look so familiar? I swear I wore one of them before, but I don't remember ever owning any rings that looked like that.' My reverie was broken, as I heard two male voices arguing outside the door. Even though the door was closed, I could hear them clearly.

"You stupid dame-baka!" I heard one of them yell, "You kidnapped the wrong people, and now Boss is going to get really mad at us."

"Hey don't blame it on me!" The other one yelled back. "You were the one that grabbed the girl anyway, so I thought at least one of them would be Vongola Decimo."

At this, I felt Gokudera stiffen. According to what I remembered decimo, is ten in Italian, and Gokudera always called Tsuna tenth. I could see the connection now, and Gokudera was always super protective of Tsuna anyway.

"No, we should blame it on Boss!" One yelled out, "The picture he gave of Decimo, is clearly a picture of this girl over here." It was my turn to stiffen at this remark. "Really?' I thought, "Do Tsuna and I even look remotely alike? Unless, their actual target was…me, and they kidnapped me under the pretense that they were kidnapping Vongola Decimo.' Gokudera seemed to have the same thought process I had because he turned around as best he could.

"I think their actual target was you," He whispered.

"Yeah, thanks for the insightful statement, not like I didn't already figure that out!" I hissed back sarcastically. "Now," I said recollecting myself, "How the hell are we going to get out of here?"

"Stupid woman stop talking!" Gokudera growled, "What do you think I am trying to figure out?"

I just sat there and stared at the wall in front of me, while Gokudera was muttering about plan A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. I looked around the room again, and my eyes fell on a half-empty bottle of King's Ransom Whiskey. I suddenly had an idea.

"Ne, Gokudera do you think we can scoot over there to grab that bottle of whiskey?" I asked.

"And why do you need alcohol? Are you giving up already?" He asked, scoffing.

"No, I think I have a way to get out of here, and it involves that bottle of whiskey." I shot back. We then proceeded to scoot our butts across the floor until we reached the bottle. My hands were tied behind my back and Gokudera and I were tied together, so I had to stop, and think about how I was going to do this.

"Woman, what are you doing?" Gokudera hissed, his voice rising.

"Shut up! I'm pretty sure the guys are outside the door! And I have a name you know? Just call me Ari." I hissed back. "And I have to find a way to pour the whiskey onto the rope. You have a cigarette lighter right?" I heard a grunt in response. "Ok, I take that as a yes. Burning through the rope would take way too long, so if I pour the whiskey on it, the ropes will burn a lot faster."

"So what, are you trying to flambé us alive?" Gokudera asked sarcastically.

"Basically," I replied, "Now where is your cigarette lighter?"

"It's in my right pocket, and I'm pretty sure you can get it with your left hand." Gokudera concluded.

"Alright, I'll try." I reached out, fighting a blush as I tried not to think about touching Gokudera's butt.

"Oi woman, where do you think you are touching?!" he demanded.

"Sorry," I muttered, "I can't really see where or what I'm touching." I continued to feel around until I felt a hard object.

"Alright, I got it!" I cried. I carefully pulled out the lighter, and placed it in Gokudera's hand, telling him to hold onto it for now. Then I grabbed the whiskey bottle with my feet, and carefully poured it on the ground, ignoring Gokudera's outburst and comments. I then instructed him to lean over, and we coated the rope with the alcohol, taking great care in only putting the alcohol in one spot.

"Alright Gokudera, there's a greater chance that we are going to get burned more, than we aren't so are you prepared?" I asked, making sure that he was totally ok with this crazy plan. Gokudera grunted in reply, and I took the lighter in my hand. I twisted a little so that the lighter was positioned right under the rope; there was a little gap in between Gokudera and me, so I decided to use that to our advantage. I took a deep breath in and out, before I clicked the lighter on. I watched as the flame grew bigger, and bluer (since alcohol turns the flame blue), and I tried to ignore the searing heat that radiated from the flames. The rope was almost burned all the way through, but it was getting dangerously close to Gokudera and I. So in a desperate attempt, I turned around and ripped the remaining rope off, not minding that the rope was still on fire. Once I got the rope off of us, Gokudera immediately began untying the ropes around my wrist, and after I was freed, I untied Gokudera's. I looked at my hands, and relief washed over me when I saw that they were not badly burned. At that moment the door opened to reveal two men. They looked pretty intoxicated, and were stumbling all around the room. One of them seemed more plastered than the other, and he seemed to notice that we were not tied together anymore. He clumsily came lumbering toward me, but with one kick, he was knocked out cold.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Gokudera said, "I must have worried Juudaime so much." I just looked at him, and then walked out the door. We continued walking for a little while, until we reached a familiar spot. We heard rustling again, and we both immediately tensed up. But then Haru's head popped out of the brush, and we both relaxed.

"Hey guys, I found them~desu!" Haru cried happily, tackling me in a bear hug. Soon, everybody came to meet us, and Tsuna looked relieved.

"Guys! We were so worried, where were yo-," Tsuna was cut off by Gokudera abruptly falling to the ground.

"I am so sorry for worrying you Juudaime!" He cried while bowing many times, "How can I be your right hand man when I cannot even protect you? I don't expect your forgiveness anytime soon!" There was a silence, and we could literally hear crickets chirping. But that silence was broke a little while later when Tsuna chuckled.

"It's alright, Gokudera I forgive you," Tsuna replied his eyes shining, "I'm just glad you made it back safe and sound." At this Gokudera got off the ground and tackled Tsuna in a hug, swearing his loyalty and sobbing. Everybody else all looked at each other and laughed.

I looked up at the moon, which was a crescent tonight, and smiled. I guess we really did get closer on this retreat, even though it involved Gokudera and I being kidnapped, and me burning my hands.

 **Omake!**

"Oi woman, where do you think you are touching?!" he demanded.

"Sorry," I muttered, "I can't really see where or what I'm touching." I continued to feel around until I felt a hard object.

"Alright, I got it!" I cried.

"W-woman….that's not the l-lighter."

A/N: Varia Arc is starting next chapter! I think…it should…hopefully… Anyway, I know these past chapters have just been fluff, and more fluff, but trust me; it will get better once we move on to the Varia Arc and other Arcs. I already have all the chapters planned out, so now it is just a matter of typing them. Again, I have summer school, but it's really easy, so technically I'm just really lazy…and procrastinate...a lot. Thank you to all who favorite, followed, reviewed, or even read my story! Btw I didn't mention this I my other author's note. Most of these events that I wrote actually did happen when I went on a retreat with my friends. We actually did the log activity, and I was blindfolded. I did end up grabbing my friend's but too. Yeah…anyway, originally the title was supposed to be Kidnapping, Killing, and Kerosene, but I looked it up, and kerosene isn't actually that flammable. Don't get me wrong it still is flammable, but whiskey is more flammable. And just to clear things up, the actual alcohol isn't being ignited; it's just helping the fire burn faster. Read and Review? Love you guys! (This was a really long chapter, 3k+, and a really long author's note! Hope you guys enjoyed the little omake at the end…hahahaha ) 3


	13. Mafia Land

Target Twelve: Mafia Land. (Yuki POV)

A/N: I know I said that I would start the Varia Arc in this chapter, but my sis wanted me to write a chapter on when they went to Mafia Land. Are you prepared for fluff, a little character development, and more fluff? Anyway, Varia Arc is probably going to start next chapter, hopefully. I think it's pretty obvious that one of my OCs is a guardian, but anyone want to guess what type of flame she has? (I'll give you a hint; it's in one of their names ;)

Standard disclaimer applies, now onto the story!

'Welcome to Mafia Land!' I stood there gawking the banner that was spread across the entrance of the amusement park. The mafia familigas really outdid themselves building this theme park. It literally looked like Disneyland, but ten times better. I could hear people screaming from the roller coasters, and Haru pointed to the biggest one.

"I want to ride that thrilling jet coaster with Tsuna-san!" She declared boldly. Fuuta saw what she was pointing to, and said that roller coaster was ranked 3rd out of 8,452 for rides so scary, you will faint. Tsuna looked like he was going to faint right then and there. Haru didn't pay any attention to Tsuna, and she took off running with Lambo. I-Pin, and Fuuta. Tsuna tried to tell them to stop, but Ari shushed him.

"Let them play," She chided, "The kids need to have fun once in a while." Once Tsuna and I heard this, we both sweat dropped. Honestly, Ari was younger than us, but sometimes she acts like our mother. Yammy laughed, and put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder.

"It's alright, Tsuna," He said with a smile, "This place looks like a lot of fun. I can understand why they would be restless."

"Yeah," I chimed in, "A lot of dirty money was put into this place, so that mafia families could have good clean fun." I paused….wait, that didn't really make any sense, but whatever. I couldn't wait to explore mafia land. I was walking forward, until a horde of reporters almost trampled me over. They were all yelling, "Reborn-san, Reborn-san!" and trying to get him to answer some questions. I forgot that Reborn was super famous in the mafia world, and there were banners and balloons of Reborn's face. The reporters were trying to ask him questions, but Reborn said that he was on vacation right now.

Soon, Haru and all the kids came running back saying that they wanted to go to the beach after te rode on rides. Tsuna was about to say ok, but was interrupted by Reborn.

"Tsuna," He said, "You have to go to the front desk to tell them that we are here, you are our representative." I couldn't help but feel sorry for him as I watched his face pale. Tsuna tried to reject that, but after some convincing, Tsuna walked grudgingly to the front desk. I laughed.

"Ne, Reborn, don't you think it's a little too early for Tsuna to meet _them_?" I asked, innocently.

He looked at me for a moment, but then turned around and smirked. "What do you mean _them?_ You mean _him_." I smiled, Tsuna would soon meet _them._

"Hey, Reborn can I go with you to watch Tsuna train?" I asked. Reborn turned around and looked at me, with his big black eyes, and blinked twice.

"How do you know Tsuna is going to go train?" He asked. I snorted.

"There's no way he can bribe somebody, so he's going to go train, right? Can I come with?" Reborn sighed and nodded, "Fine then, come with me."

I obliged, and we soon reached a subway tracks. We stood there awkwardly for a few moments waiting for the train. He turned to me and his eyes grew hard.

"Where do you get your information from, Kawahira Yuki?" He asked, expecting an answer. I looked at him and smiled,

"If an informant gave away their source of information then, bye-bye source. The relationship between an informant and their source is a very fragile thing, based on trust. I'm afraid I can't tell you. But I can tell you this; my source is never wrong, so you have no reason to not trust me ok?"

I was saved by the subway, and we both got in. We spent a few more moments in silence, and then the subway stopped again. The door opened, and Tsuna was thrown in.

"Hi, Tsuna," I greeted cheerfully.

"Ehhhh? Yuki? Why are you here? Where are we going?" He shrieked.

"To Under Mafia Land," Reborn replied nonchalantly.

"Reborn?! Why are here too? And what is Under Mafia Land?"

"You'll see when you get there," I replied.

The subway stopped again, after a few more minutes.

"We are here," Reborn declared and stepped off the subway. Tsuna and I followed suit. Suddenly we heard a babyish voice come from behind us.

"Good of you to come, kora!" The voice said.

'Kora?' I thought, 'Does he mean hey, maggot, or dammit? It's probably hey though…'

We turned around and were greeted with another baby, with a pacifier around his neck.

"Who is this baby?" Tsuna asked.

"Ciaossu, Colonello!" Reborn greeted. I smiled.

"Reborn!" Colonello's eyes widened and he whipped out his rifle, and tried to shoot Reborn. Of course Reborn dodged, and Leon turned into a gun. While still air-borne Reborn shot Colonello in the head. I couldn't help but laugh as Tsuna started freaking out.

"He's Colonello, and he's in charge of Under Mafia Land." Reborn said.

"You just killed him!" Tsuna screamed. Then Colonello sat up.

"He didn't kill me; we are made out of different stuff, kora." Tsuna looked even more freaked out.

I just stood there idly, as Colonello and Reborn got into an argument. Then they started head butting each other, and I just looked on. After they were done with their whole greeting Colonello asked Reborn what we were doing here.

"I'm just here to observe. My student, Tsuna, is going to train here."

"I'm here to observe too!" I chimed in. I started to feel like I was forgotten. Colonello didn't seem to notice my presence and he turned around when he heard my voice and pointed his rifle at me.

"Who are you, kora?" He asked.

"My name's Kawahira Yuki and I am Reborn's friend." I replied. He looked at me for a few more seconds and turned his attention toward Tsuna.

"So you are the Vongola Decimo, kora. If you are Reborn's student, it's no wonder you didn't pass the test. But you can relax now. You see that whirlpool down there? Jump in it, kora!" I just found a comfy place to sit, and watched the scene unfold before my eyes.

'Tsuna meeting Colonello is a very important event,' I thought, 'I can check that off my checklist of events to come.'

Tsuna tried to work his way into the conversation somehow, but to no avail. I then watched as Colonello and Reborn had a little competition on who could punish Tsuna the most. I felt a little bad for him, but this was all part of becoming a great mafia boss.

"STOP!" Tsuna screamed, and Colonello and Reborn both delivered a flying kick to Tsuna, throwing him off the cliff into the whirlpool. Once Tsuna was off the cliff, Colonello turned to me again.

"Who are you really, kora?" He asked me again, his eyes narrowing.

"Jeez, why does nobody trust me?" I asked, exasperated, "Fine, in the mafia world I am known as Claire Voyant, the informant," I sighed, "You think being an informant, people would trust you," I added under my breath. Colonello's eyes widened a little after I introduced myself.

"Wow Reborn, you managed to get _the_ Claire Voyant to join the Vongola? I heard that she wasn't affiliated with any families."

"I'm not," I replied, but Reborn pointed his gun at me, his eyes telling me to take back my statement.

I sighed, "Ok, I was coerced into joining Tsuna's family. So I guess now I work for the Vongola."

Reborn and Colonello suddenly whipped out their guns and fired their weapons at me at the same time. I jumped backwards, and watched as the rock I was sitting on shattered into a million pieces.

"What was that for?" I asked, pouting. My comfy spot was obliterated.

"Her reflexes are pretty good, kora." Colonello stated.

"Thanks?" I said hesitantly. It was starting to feel like I was the one training instead of Tsuna.

After our whole talk, Tsuna finally managed to pull himself out of the whirlpool. Then I could hear the faint noises of the subway again. The subway stopped, and out came Yammy and Gokudera.

"You guys!" Tsuna exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" Gokudera was about to answer, when alarms starting blaring, stating that there was an enemy attack.

"It must be the Calcassa Family attacking," Reborn said. Then suddenly Colonello's and Reborn's pacifiers starting glowing. I pointed it out.

"A friend of yours in the Calcassa Family?" I asked, pointing to their pacifiers.

"Yeah," Reborn replied, "Skull would be the only one stupid enough to do this." Then, we heard explosions and saw smoke.

"I would do something about it…but it's my nap time…" Right after Colonello finished saying that, he fell asleep with his eyes open.

"Go do something about it Tsuna…take the subway back to Mafia Land…" Reborn said, while drifting off to sleep too.

We all looked at each other and shrugged. I guess we will have to do something about it. When we reached regular Mafia Land again, there was a huge ruckus. There were people running about. We stopped in a courtyard, and saw Mama, and everybody else.

"I'm glad everyone's safe," Tsuna said relieved.

"Ne, Tsu-kun, there is going to be a fun event in this castle right?" Nana asked. I just raised my eyebrows.

"You all are going to defeat the enemy mafia right?" Nana pressed on. We all sweat dropped, except Yammy.

"Well, then all the girls and I will go make food in the castle. Bye and have fun!" I grabbed Ari from that group, and she looked thankful. But then Ari pulled me aside. Her voice dropped to a whisper and she said,

"Hey, I don't really know what is going on, but I'm not as dense as the other people. What is going on?" I sighed. I totally forgot that Ari didn't know about the Mafia, and Tsuna. She seemed skilled in fighting though, so I just assumed that she knew. That made me wonder, 'Who was Matsuki Arisa?'

I looked at her and smiled, "Don't worry, when this is all over I will personally explain to you about everything, kay?"

She shrugged, "Ok, fine." When we joined up with everybody else, the some mafia families were arguing on who would lead the fight. Then Gokudera just had to open his big mouth.

"Juudaime, is the most fit to lead!" Gokudera boasted. This got the families to stop arguing.

"Juudaime? Which little family are you from?" One person sneered.

"The Vongola Family!" Gokudera declared proudly. Soon everybody stopped talking, and agreed that Tsuna would be the leader.

Then there were these men in black that came with guns. Gokudera threw his dynamite, and there were easily blown up. The rest of the families somehow got their hands on guns, so they started firing at the Calcassa Family. The people from the Calcassa Family started firing at us, and Tsuna was trying to dodge the bullets. Yammy was laughing and dodging bullets with amazing speed.

"Ahahaha, what are the rules to this game?" He asked while jumping around.

"Just don't die," Ari said, deflecting the bullets with one of her kunai. I looked over at her. She obviously had training, but if she didn't know about the mafia, why would she have these skills? The mystery surrounding Ari just got thicker. Then there was this little baby wearing a helmet, with a huge octopus behind him. The octopus seemed to follow the commands of the little baby. "You haven't eaten that octopus yet?" I heard Reborn say from a tree, "I bet it tastes great." Reborn jumped down from the branch, and landed in front of us.

"Reborn-senpai! What are you doing here?"

'Senpai?' I thought, 'Right…Skull was Reborn's lackey.'

After a short argument, Skull's octopus picked up Reborn. Everyone tensed up, but I knew that there was nothing to be worried about. Leon turned into a gun, and Reborn fired quick shots at Skull. All of them were deflected, except for one that hit his hand.

"Die, Reborn!" He screamed, but nothing happened. Reborn easily got out of the octopus's grasp, and said, "I bet he's never seen your hand like that before."

Skull looked at his hand in shock. His hand was swollen, so it was the size of his head. With one swift kick, Skull went flying into a nearby tree. Then, as if it were planned, everybody heard explosions.

"Seemed like Colonello finally woke up from his nap," I stated, watching him take down the ships with his rifle.

After that whole fiasco, the guys wanted to relax, and the changed into their swimming attire. I told Ari not to change, because the boat was going to embark soon. The guys finally thought they could relax, but then Bianchi comes, and tells them that we have to leave. Gokudera falls into the sand hugging his stomach, and the looks on Yammy's face and Tsuna's are priceless.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. And sorry if it sucks…which it does. At least it was better than my first two drafts of it. Anyway Varia Arc is definitely next chapter so be prepared! Chapters should come faster now, because I have already outlined most of them already. Thank you to all who favorite, followed, and reviewed! I love you guys! Read and Review?


	14. Varia Arrives

Target 13: Varia Arrives.

A/N: Ok, this chapter will be in a different format. It will have both OCs POV in one chapter. Exciting stuff right? Anyway tell me if you like it or hate it! Varia comes! *SQEAULS* I have been wanting to write this chapter for forever. Plus summer school is finally over! YAY! I can write to my heart's content now.

Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing.

On with the story

I woke up with a start, gasping, and feeling my pajamas stick to my body because of sweat.

'What the hell?' I thought, 'That hasn't happened in a long time.' And by that I mean waking up in the middle of the night, because of weird visions/dreams. By now, I had already figured out what they meant though. The Varia was going to arrive here in Namimori, Japan. Quite early I might add; I wasn't expecting them until next week. The dream was about the 8 rings, and a potted herb plant confirmed all my suspicious. (I think the herb was basil. How is basil even relevant?)

I crawled out of my comfy covers, my bed just beckoning me to crawl back into its soft and fluffy arms. But I couldn't, I had to get ready for school. I went into my bathroom, and washed my face and brushed my teeth. I went to my closet and pulled on my uniform. I then went back to the bathroom, to try to tame the unruly tangled mess that's my hair. I brushed it, wincing as I hit each tangle, and then put mousse in it, to hopefully calm the fly-aways down. I looked in the mirror. Eh, whatever, I looked presentable enough. I trudged down the stairs and saw my father eating ramen.

"Tou-san, you eat that way too much, it can't be healthy." I chided.

"It's fine, it's fine. Here's your breakfast, you better hurry up if you don't want to be late for school." He replied.

I just grabbed a piece of toast and my bag, and headed out. I met up with Tsuna, Ari, Yammy, and Gokudera, and we continued to walk to school, like we always did.

"Your dad's coming back?" I heard Ari ask, "Your house will be fuller than ever."

"Yeah, yeah," Tsuna said. He didn't really seem that excited.

"Ne, Tsuna," I chimed in, "Aren't you happy that your father is coming home?" I already knew the answer based on his body language, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"To be honest…not really," Tsuna replied, a little sheepishly.

"My father has always said the weirdest things to me, and when I was little I didn't really get it. He couldn't even manage to come home every two years. If a father like that suddenly comes home, then I don't really know what to do."

"It's ok, Tsuna, I understand," I replied, "My mother gave me away as a baby, and I had no idea who my father was, so I was adopted."

Everyone just stared at me.

"What?" I asked, "Don't look at me with those eyes, I hate it." It was true that I hated when people looked at me with pity. It's not that I didn't like pity; I just didn't like it when people pitied me on my 'traumatic past.' Gokudera broke the silence.

"Hey, today is Sunday around the world, let's relax."

"Right," Agreed Yammy, "Today is just a review day anyway." Ari looked uneasy.

"Hey, is it really ok to skip school?" She asked tentatively.

"It's fine, it's fine. Come one, everybody needs to kick back and relax once in a while." Yammy said with a smile while slinging his arm around Ari's shoulder. I saw Ari cringe at the contact, but she made no move to push his arm away.

"Where are we going to go?" Ari asked, still hesitant.

"Calm down, Ms. Goody-two-shoes, we won't get arrested for playing hooky, this isn't North America." I joked. Ari seemed to relax after that, and we walked to the downtown area.

Obviously, Lambo got in tons of trouble, like sleeping in a pet store, and putting a bra over his eyes, and calling them eye lasers. Ari, Kyoko, Haru, and I were all just laughing, as Tsuna apologized to all the store owners fervently.

A few minutes later, Lambo and I-Pin said they were thirsty do Tsuna went and got them a drink.

"Isn't Tsuna-kun so sweet? Buying everything for the kids?" Kyoko cooed.

"Yes!" Haru declared, "Tsuna will be the perfect husband, and Haru will be the perfect wife of a Mafioso~desu!"

Ari and I looked at each other, and she cocked her head at me. I sighed and got up from the table.

"Don't mind us, Ari and I are just going to walk around a little bit, we will come right back." We excused ourselves from the table, and walked to a random store. While Ari was pretending to look at clothes, I focused all my attention on the articles of clothing.

"You owe me some explaining," Ari stated, blunt as usual.

"Ok," I took a deep breath, contemplating on the quickest way to tell Ari all this information.

"Ok, so basically Tsuna and all his friends are in the mafia because Tsuna is going to become the next boss of the biggest and most influential family. Reborn is not a genius baby, he was an adult, but he had a curse put on him, so now he's stuck in this form. I'm actually in the mafia, but I am just an information broker. So basically, in a few minutes there will be these weird people that come, and we will have to fight them, mkay?" I paused to gauge Ari's reaction. It seemed like she was taking this well, and not freaking out. She stayed silent for a few more moments.

"So…" She started slowly, "Everybody is somehow involved in the mafia?"

I nodded, "Most of the people you know, excluding Haru and Kyoko."

She sighed, "And here I was thinking I could get away from it, but everywhere I seem to go, it always haunts me." I gave her a puzzled look,

"What are you talking about?" I asked, wanting to know.

She looked at me and sighed _again_ , for the nth time.

"Well, back in Canada, my family…was…in the mafia."

I couldn't help but gasp at her statement. I was not easily surprised, but Ari made my jaw drop, and my mouth hang open.

"What?" She asked, looking at my facial expressions, "How did you think I learned how to fight?" I closed my mouth, and thought about it. It was true, that the little amount I had seen Ari fighting, she did seem to be highly skilled, especially in throwing projectiles. I was about to say something, but I was interrupted by a loud explosion.

"Oh, they're here," I stated. Ari looked at me like I was crazy, and then ran outside, only to be greeted by the sight of a boy lying on top of Tsuna. He had a weird blue flame on his forehead, and he was holding boomerang. I looked at him a little closer, and then it hit me. This boy, whose name was Basil, (now my dream made sense,) would deliver the Vongola Rings to Tsuna.

Then somebody screamed "VOOOIIII!" And everybody's eyes went to the top of the building, where we saw a silhouette of a man with super long hair.

* * *

 **Ari POV:**

There was a man standing on the top of a building when the smoke cleared. The wind was blowing his hair, 'OMG,' I thought, 'doesn't his hair like tangle, or get in the way when he fights? His hair is so long and straight, I bet it's soft and silky too. Why can't my hair be like that? I wonder what conditioner he uses…' I pushed these irrelevant thoughts to the back of my mind when the long-haired guy, started slashing his sword like crazy, creating a strong wind that was pushing us back. It was also making debris fly everywhere, obstructing our view. I felt a hand grab my arm, and I looked up. I saw Kyoko's worried face.

"Reborn-san told us all to get out of here." She told me urgently. I nodded, and already saw that Haru got Yuki.

"It's fine, I heard Yuki say, you guys go over there, Ari and I will be right behind you." Yuki pulled away from Haru, and pulled me behind a building. We were hidden from view, but I could see Tsuna, the other boy, and the long-haired freak perfectly fine. In one stroke, the blonde kid was sent flying into a building, but then I saw dynamite in the air. Long-haired guy, easily dodged, and looked for where the explosives were coming from. When the smoke cleared, I could see Yamamoto and Gokudera standing there.

"You got a sword right?" I heard Yamamoto say, "Well then I'll take you on first!"

Yamamoto ran full speed at the guy, but he easily blocked his attack. The guy then flipped upwards, and locked swords with Yamamoto again. Suddenly, I saw something flash, and there was a big explosion. I tried to run out and help them, but I was stopped by Yuki.

"No," She said, "They aren't badly hurt, and they need to lose this in order for them to realize how strong the enemy is." I looked at her like she was crazy, but Yuki maintained a neutral expression on her face.

"I thought they were your friends," I spat, disgusted at Yuki's actions. I shook Yuki's hand off my wrist, and ran to where everybody was. I was sick of watching my friends get their asses kicked; friends would fight back for friends, right? When I got to Tsuna, he had these weird gloves on his hands, and he jumped up, and his clothes were ripped off his body. Tsuna then launched himself at long-haired guy, but I could immediately tell that this guy was much too strong for Tsuna. I got some kunai out, and prepared to throw it. Right now, Tsuna was currently blocking my view of the target, so I took a deep breath. 'This is risky,' I thought, 'If I miss I could potentially skewer Tsuna too.' I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I closed my eyes, and let instinct take over. In less than a second my kunai were soaring through the air toward their target. I'm pretty sure that the guy could sense my kunai, because he roughly threw Tsuna into a building, before using his sword to deflect my kunai.

"Thank god I'm used to Bel throwing stuff," I heard him grumble. I think it was suppose to be under his breath, but this guy really did not know how to whisper. The silver haired guy turned to look at me, and grey met blue in an intense staring competition. We heard sounds of footsteps, and we both broke eye contact, and saw where it was coming from. There was a young man walking towards us, with a whip in his hand, and a bunch of people in suits surrounding him.

"I see you haven't changed in all these years, Superbi Squalo." The man calmly said.

'Superbi?' I thought, 'Isn't that pride in Italian?' Looking at this guy, I'm pretty sure he was super prideful, and probably has an ego as long as his hair.

I looked back at the young man. He had blonde hair, with brown eyes. He was also wearing a green jacket with a furry hood, even though it was hot outside.

Squalo seemed to forget about me, and shifted his attention to the newcomer. I had never seen him before, but they seemed to know each other. I could see Squalo hesitate. He suddenly bent down, and grabbed Tsuna by his hair. The new person swung his whip with great precision, but Squalo countered it by releasing more bombs. When the smoke cleared Tsuna and the other blonde kid seemed alright.

"Soft as always, Bucking Bronco!" I heard a loud obnoxious voice say. "For your sake, I'll leave their lives in your hands, but I'll be taking these!" He gleefully waved a box around, before disappearing.

"The Vongola Rings!" The blonde boy called out. 'Vongola Rings?' I thought, 'Doesn't Vongola mean clam in Italian?' I was so confused…they were talking about clam rings? Reborn suddenly appeared.

"It wouldn't be smart to chase after him," Reborn said.

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed, "Where have you been?"

"I'm not allowed to attack him," Reborn stated bluntly, "Because he is in the Vongola Family as well." Reborn let this information sink in, and then we heard a new voice chime in.

"Ne, Tsuna, have you ever heard of the story of the sea, the clam, and the rainbow?" I heard a voice ask behind me. Everybody turned around, and I found out that it was Yuki talking. I could see Reborn tense up.

"What about it Yuki-chan?" Tsuna asked confused.

She winked at him, "I'll only tell you on part now and the rest I'll tell you when the time is right. So they story goes like this, the clam is the Vongola, since clam in Italian is Vongola. The Vongola have the power to pass down their traditions generation to generation, like clams do. Those rings are the tradition, and those rings belong to you. You must win them back, no matter how hard it may be."

"Win..?" Tsuna asked confused, "We don't have to like…fight them or anything do we?" Yuki stayed silent, and then there were some men holding Yamamoto and Gokudera.

"They don't look so good," I said, worried.

"Yeah," the blonde man said, "Tsuna, let's talk later, let's treat their wounds first."

"Juudiame!" Gokudera suddenly said, standing up, "I'll certainly beat those guys the next time I see them."

"I'm glad to see that you are safe, Tsuna. Maybe they are still in the area." Yamamoto added.

"You guys go home." I heard Yuki say.

"That's right. At your current combat strength I think you will just get in the way," Reborn chimed in. I could see the looks of shock on their faces.

"Reborn!" Tsuna scolded.

"Come on Tsuna let's go," Reborn said, and Leon turned into a rope, that wrapped around Tsuna.

I turned around to follow them, until I felt somebody's body push mine and I felt myself falling face forward toward concrete. My scream barely reached my ears, before I heard the sound of a loud thud, and a dull crunching sound. I got off of the ground, and turned around, only to see Yuki's perfectly manicured hand sticking out from under a giant piece of concrete.

'She pushed me out of the way?'

A/N: And chapter done! Summer school is finally over, so I have plenty of time to write now! I cannot wait for the next few chapters, especially the ring battles! I hope that you guys are looking forward to the upcoming chapters as much as I am! Anyway…plot bunny has appeared! And I will ask again, any of you guys have any idea of what the new guardian is? Thank you guys for reading! Review?


	15. Seralyn The Seraphim

Target 14: Seralyn the Seraphim (Yuki POV)

 _White_. _Blinding_ _white_.

I wasn't sure where I was, but it looked like I was in a room that had no corners. It looked as if the room never ended, and it was just this great big white expanse.

'OMG,' I thought, 'Am I dead?' I couldn't help but think that this place would look a lot like the place you would go to after you die. I started freaking out, and would have started hyperventilating, if somebody didn't tap me on the shoulder. I whirled around and was met by the sight of a beautiful woman wearing a one shoulder, floor length, toga thing. She looked like an angel, with white wavy hair down to her waist, and pastel lavender eyes. I'm pretty sure she registered my shocked reaction, because she laughed a laugh that sounded like twinkling bells. She turned to me and smiled.

"I am sorry if I startled you," She said, while slightly giggling. "My name is Seralyn, and I am an angel." I took a few moments to process her two sentences. Who knew that two sentences could leave me so flustered? When I didn't respond, Seralyn kept on talking.

"Let us go to a more comfortable place to talk. This place tends to make guests uncomfortable." I nodded and followed her. As she walked, well actually glided, over the floor my mind was in over drive. If I was meeting an angel, then I am pretty sure I died. I tried to remember what happened moments before I was transported to this place, but to no avail. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize Seralyn stopped walking, and I ran into her back.

"I'm so sorry," I muttered, embarrassed.

"No, no, It's fine. Come and make yourself comfortable." She replied. I walked into a door that randomly appeared, and walked to the nearest couch, and sat down. Everything in the room was pure white, and I was worried that I would get something dirty. Seralyn also handed me a teacup, which also appeared out of nowhere, and sat down on the arm chair facing me.

"I bet you want answers and explanations, huh?" Seralyn asked, while sipping her teacup. I nodded, "I am really confused as to why I am here. Am I dead?" I asked her tentatively.

"No, you are not dead," She replied, and relief washed through me. "Or...you aren't dead any more."

"Anymore...?" I asked, as I spluttered on my tea.

"Oh yes. You see I rarely get visitors, and when I do, they usually visit me because of a near death experience, and they usually always have a reason for meeting me." The confused look on my face probably grew more prominent, because she laughed again.

"I take it, you do not know why you are here?" She asked, smiling. I shook my head.

"So obviously I encountered a near death experience," I started, trying to get all my thoughts in order.

"Oh no sweetie," Seralyn objected, "It wasn't a near death experience, you did die, and I had to bring you back." I gasped and tried to absorb this information.

"Ok," I started again, once I had gathered my wits, "So I died, you brought me back, and now I'm here." Seralyn nodded and motioned for me to go on.

"So now we are sitting here, and I suppose you are going to give me information?" Seralyn laughed that twinkly bell sound again.

"It's hard to tell you something you don't' know, since you seem to already know a lot of things," Seralyn stated, matter of factly.

"Oh, I don't know everything," I interjected, "Like I don't know who you are, or why I am here."

"Alright," Seralyn confessed, "Enough beating around the bush. I take it you have heard about the Vongola Rings?" I nodded and she continued. "Ok, so usually there are only seven Vongola Rings, correct?" I nodded again, and listed them mentally, 'Sky, Storm, Rain, Cloud, Sun, Mist, and Lightening.'

"Well here's the thing, there is another Vongola Ring. This ring has not been worn since Primo's time, and Primo was the only one to have a guardian for this ring." When she paused, I took the chance to ask the question that had been bugging me.

"Seralyn?" I asked, getting her attention. "What ring is this one?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that, silly me. This ring is the Night, or Moon ring. There are two types of flames for this ring. There are the night flames, and the moon flames. The night flames are very dangerous, and are fueled out of hatred and contempt. The moon flames, on the other hand, are fueled by hope, and brightness. You can say that these two flames are the opposite, and thus they cancel each other out, creating a balanced effect. If the balance is broken, and one flame outweighs the other, there will be deadly consequences." Seralyn stopped her monologue to see if I got everything. I slowly nodded my head to show her that I sucked up all that information.

Seralyn looked at me, and then looked at the grandfather clock behind her.

"I guess my time here is over," Seralyn concluded, as she rose gracefully from her seat, and motioned for me to follow her. She opened the door and then turned to me.

"I will keep in touch with you Yuki, and I will probably meet you again, once the ring has chosen its rightful bearer." She was about to walk out the door, until she turned to me again and winked, "Oh, and by the way Yuki, you almost died because part of a building fell on you. You know how hard it was to resurrect you again? Anyway take care, and stay away from falling buildings." I just stood there dumbfounded, and I stepped through the door. Once I did I found myself in a hospital room on a bed. I saw Ari furiously pacing around, outside my room, and Tsuna and Yammy were there too.

I tried to say, "Hey guys," but there was a tube stuck down my throat. It brushed against my gag reflex and on instinct, I started choking. I'm pretty sure my blood pressure went through the roof because the machine that I was hooked up too started beeping rapidly. 'Of course my heart beat would go up. I'm choking duh.' I saw doctors and nurse run in, and I caught sight of Ari's worried face. Then it all came back to me. I shoved Ari out of the way, and I got hit by a piece of building. She seriously owed me. There was a doctor by my side, and I tried to tell him to remove the tube from my throat. He seemed to get the message, and pulled the intubation tube out from my throat. I started coughing and I could finally breathe.

"Ugh, finally," I exclaimed, but I looked at the doctor.

"Something wrong, Dr." I questioned. He looked a little pale and startled. He looked at his clipboard then back up at me.

"You are Kawahira Yuki, right?" he asked me hesitantly. I nodded.

"According to your chart, you got hit by a piece of concrete, and you had 3 broken ribs, one that fractured and punctured your lung, which caused your lung to collapse. When you came in, you had lost a considerable amount of blood, and had to be prepped for surgery right away. According to this, it says you were in a drug induced coma, and were going to say like that for a few more days. Then you would be transferred to the ICU for further treatment. Looking at you now, all your ribs have knitted together, you can breathe without intubation, and your blood pressure has reached a healthy level now. May I ask what happened?"

I grinned at him, and removed the IV from my arm, since it was totally useless now.

"I went to heaven, and met an angel named Seralyn that cured me." I savored the doctor's shocked expression, and hopped off the bed only to be met with a cold gun pressed to my forehead. The doctor immediately fled out of my room, along with his nurses.

I sighed and plopped back down onto the bed. "What is with you and always pointing your gun at me?" I asked.

"I only point my gun at you because you give me reason to." Reborn responded coolly.

"And what was the reason now?" I asked, raising one of my eyebrows. I felt him shove his gun into my forehead harder, not appreciating my teasing tone.

"How do you know about Seralyn?" Reborn asked his black eyes cold, and unforgiving.

I shrugged, "I just met her and she healed me, so I am grateful to her. What about her?"

Reborn lowered his gun, almost unwillingly, and said, "Seralyn was the name of Giotto's lover, but she went crazy and died. Few people know about her, and her existence is one of the Vongola's well guarded secrets. So how can you, an information broker, get your hands on this intel?"

I smirked and shrugged again, "Maybe it's not the same Seralyn, but I did gain some important info from her. There's a new guardian."

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to update. I lost my notebook that had all my notes and ideas for the chapters written down, and I had to find it which took forever. I just found it today, and it was actually in my room the whole time. *Sweatdrop* Anyway, y'all meet Seralyn in this chapter, and after this we are moving full steam ahead into the ring battles! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Read and Review? ;)


	16. The Ring

Target 15: The Ring (Ari POV)

I woke up with a groan and sat up. Weird, I didn't remember going to sleep in my bed. The last thing I remembered was staying at the hospital to see how Yuki was. I sighed and flopped back on my bed.

'That girl was crushed by a huge ass piece of concrete, and then a few hours later she wakes up perfectly unharmed? There is seriously something wrong with that girl.' I thought, but I couldn't help but feel relief wash through me. I really did need to thank her though...I mean she did push me out of the way only to be crushed by a piece of building. I guess friends save friends...right? I sighed and shook my head, trying to prevent the oncoming headache. Then I looked down and took into account what I was wearing because I didn't normally sleep in this shirt. When I saw what it was I realized that this wasn't even my shirt.

'Eh, whatever,' I thought, 'It was probably Maman's or Tsuna's.'

I heard a big ruckus downstairs, and rolled out of bed. Whoever was making the noise was going to pay for depriving me of my much needed sleep. I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes as I walked down the stairs to a very boisterous table. Nana was still cooking, even though there was a mountain of food already on the table. I saw Yamamoto, Tsuna, Gokudera, Lambo, I-Pin, Bianchi, Reborn, and a blonde male who I presumed was Tsuna's father. I put my hands on my hips and glared.

"What do y'all think you are doing depriving somebody of their sleep? Y'all should be mighty ashamed of yourselves! And why the fuck are there so many people in the house?"

Everybody stopped eating and glanced up at my spot on the stairs. Tsuna's father choked a little on his food. Reborn turned Leon into a hammer and smashed his back with it. His father coughed a little more than looked up at me.

"Ano…are you Tsuna's girlfriend?" He asked hesitantly. I did a spit take on air. "You _are_ wearing one of Tsuna's shirts. I mean I even bought that shirt for him for Christmas. It's from Italy." He gave me a wink and then went back to eating. I looked over at Tsuna who turned bright red, and Gokudera was giving me a, 'you aren't worthy of Juudaime, so how dare you get called his girlfriend?' look. Maman was just giggling as she went back to cooking even more food. I just shook my head and walked down the stairs to my usually spot at the table. I then turned to Tsuna's father.

"Hi, my name is Matuski Arisa, and I am staying at your house as part of an exchange program. I am originally from Canada." Tsuna's father turned toward me and smiled.

"Hi, I am Sawada Iemitsu, but you can call me Iemitsu, or Papa." He sent another wink my way, and Tsuna looked uncomfortable.

"If you do call me Papa, it will be the first time in forever! Tsuna rarely calls me Papa anymore." Iemitsu looked like he was stuck in the past reminiscing about some memories while sparkles surrounded him. I just went back to eating, and the conversation around the table was light and airy.

"By the way," I chimed in, "Why are Yamamoto and Gokudera here?"

"We are here because Reborn told us about a special event right Gokudera?" Yamamoto said in his usual care-free attitude.

"Yakyu-baka!" Gokudera exclaimed, "It is not an event, we are going to be fighting for Juudiame!"

"Right," Yamamoto agreed, "We did get these weird rings." At that moment Yamamoto and Gokudera showed me their rings. They were weird looking, with clams on them. Gokudera's had weird squiggly line that was suppose to look like a tornado? And Yamamoto had a rain drop on it.

"Why are they such a weird shape? It's like there is another half to the ring."

"Very good, Arisa," I heard Reborn say as he was sipping his espresso. "The rings are not complete, because you have to win the other half. The other half was taken by the Varia, Vongola's independent assassination squad. They want the rings, because if you have the rings that mean you have the power to be the next successor to the Vongola. There are seven Vongola Rings. They only have meaning when seven family members hold them."

"Seven family members?" Tsuna asked, really confused.

"The six other rings have been delivered to the people worthy of protecting the next Vongola boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"You guys should head to school right now if you don't want to be late." Maman said, still cooking. Tsuna looked at the clock and shrieked.

"Come on guys we have to go! Otherwise Hibari-san will bite us to death!" I quickly ran upstairs, and changed into my school uniform.

"Ari-chan, everyone's waiting for you!" I heard Tsuna yell through the door.

"Go without me!" I yelled back, still putting my skirt on, "Midori's start time is later than Nami-Chuu's and I don't want to make you guys late."

"Ok, Ari-chan, I'll see you after school!" Tsuna said, as I heard him walk down the stairs.

Third Person POV. (Iemitsu POV)

"Seven family members…you sure about that Reborn?" Somebody asked as she leaned against the door frame.

"Yuki, shouldn't you be at school?" Reborn asked casually sipping his espresso. Iemitsu stopped eating and looked up at the girl.

"It's fine, I can afford to be a little late, I'm not really scared of Hibari."

"Who are you?" Iemitsu asked, eyeing the girl.

"Oh silly me, I forgot my manners." The girl bowed deeply and said, "My name is Kawahira Yuki, nice to meet you." Iemitsu opened his mouth to introduce himself but the girl cut him off.

"Don't bother introducing yourself; I already know that you are Sawada Iemitsu, head of CEDEF, and also known as Vongola's young lion, blah blah blah, details details details-" Iemitsu immediately dropped his care free attitude and looked at Nana, but she was too immersed in cooking and humming that she didn't hear anything.

"Iemitsu, meet Yuki, also known as Claire Voyant, she is now allied with the Vongola Family, so I expect you two to get along. And Yuki, what did you mean about seven family members?" Reborn inquired, looking up from his espresso cup.

"Oh, you know, I feel like you are leaving somebody out." Yuki replied cryptically. As if on cue, Ari came running down the stairs, out of breath, uniform barely on.

"I'm not late am I?" She asked breathily, looking at the clock, "Good, I'm not _that_ late," she sighed.

"By the way, Reborn, I've been meaning to ask…do I get a ring too?" Ari asked hopefully.

Reborn looked at Iemitsu,

"Did you give them all out yet?" Reborn asked.

"Yeah, I put them in their mail this morning," Iemitsu replied.

"Bu-bu-but, your mailbox is _my_ mailbox," She said, slightly pouting as she looked longingly at the pile of mail on the table.

"Sorry sweetie," He said apologetically, "You aren't one of Tsuna's guardians." Iemitsu reached over, and picked up the now empty box that used to hold the rings. The box slipped out of his hand, and fell to the floor. When the box came in contact with the floor, something rolled out toward Ari.

"Hey, is this a half ring?" Ari asked, while slipping it onto her middle finger. Once the ring was all the way on the finger, Ari slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Yuki leaned over Ari's unconscious body, with her hands on her hips, while Reborn and Iemitsu just looked at each other.

"Well, if I was wrong about this one, she dead. Uh-huh." Yuki said nodding her head.

 **Omake!**

"Sorry sweetie," He said apologetically, "You aren't one of Tsuna's guardians." Iemitsu reached over, and picked up the now empty box that used to hold the rings. The box slipped out of his hand, and fell to the floor.

Everybody seemed to hold their breath as the box fell in slow motion to the floor. When it did hit the floor nothing happened.

"The hell?" Yuki asked, picking up the box. "Something was supposed to come out," She muttered as she held it up to her ear, and gave it a tentative shake, as if something else was inside. "Ok, I coulda sworn-" Then she gave it another shake, and soon enough she was shaking the box like a mad woman.

"Why," _shake,_ "Won't," _shake,_ "You," _shake,_ "Come," _shake,_ "On," _shake,_ "Out," _shake,_ "You," _shake,_ "Damn," _shake,_ "Ring!" _shake shake shake shake._

A/N: I really enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you guys did too! I hope you guys also enjoyed that little omake at the end. (Trust me, I have many more funny ones to come in future chapters.) Anyway, the ring battles are coming up and I'm so excited, but I really suck at writing fight scenes so I'm not excited for that . Next chapter something will be revealed! And I hope your still guessing on what Ari's ring is. Read and Review? Love you guys! ~Until next time ;)


	17. A Scary Skylark Situation

Target 16: A Scary Skylark Situation (Yuki POV)

"Yuki, Yuki," I felt somebody shaking my shoulder, and I cracked one of my eyes open. I looked around and found myself on top of a hill, lying under the shade of a huge oak tree that was surrounded by wildflowers and lush green grass. I turned around, and a pair of light lavender eyes, met my dark violet ones.

"Seralyn?" I said incredulously. She giggled her laugh which still sounded like twinkling bells.

"I said I would visit you again didn't I?" She asked playfully.

"Ok, but where am I?" I asked her, still looking around at my surroundings. Her eyes lost their brightness for just a second and she looked sad, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone again.

"Oh, this place is just a figment of your subconscious. Basically you are dreaming right now." Seralyn replied.

"Oh, ok," I replied, "So what am I doing here?" I inquired.

"The ring has chosen its rightful wearer," Seralyn announced, looking into the distance. "Since the ring has specifically chosen this person, the person cannot take off the ring. I am sure you know about the ring battles that are going to happen soon." I nodded, "Well this person has to win," Seralyn stated, a bit urgently, "If this person loses, then she will have to take off the ring. The ring will not come off though, and if the ring does manage to come off, she will die."

"Excuse me Seralyn for interrupting, but you keep mentioning a 'she'. Who is the person the ring has chosen?" I asked.

"Matsuki Arisa," Seralyn divulged, "I'm sure you know her right?" I nodded again, 'So Ari was the moon guardian huh?' I thought. Seralyn suddenly grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.

"Arisa must not lose, I can put her in your hands right?" I looked at Seralyn confused; she had an expression foreign to me on her face. I gently removed her hands off of my shoulders.

"I'll do my best to train her, but may I ask why you are so worried about her?" Seralyn looked at me hesitantly.

"I'll be honest with you," Seralyn finally confessed, "Arisa is my great times ten, grandchild." I started choking on air.

"Also Seralyn," I croaked out, after I finished coughing, "Were you the first Moon guardian?"

Her lips parted in a slight 'o' and there was shock in her eyes; I knew I had hit a sore spot.

"What happened?" I asked, as gently as I could manage. Seralyn took a few shaky breaths but after she cleared her throat.

"The ring was the reason I died." She whispered, "So please, don't let my grandchild have the same fate."

* * *

I opened my eyes with a start finding myself in Tsuna's kitchen. I was standing over Ari, and Reborn and Iemitsu were looking at me weirdly.

"What's wrong?" Reborn asked me, "You blanked out for a second there." I smiled and dismissed the question with my hand.

"It's nothing; just put Ari on the couch or something; I have a feeling it's going to be a while before she wakes up." I looked up at the clock and swore. The clock said 8:10. I was ten minutes late for school, and Hibari was going to have my ass for it. I swore under my breath.

"Well it was nice chatting with you guys but I really have to run. I guess I'll take to you guys later!" I bolted out the door, trying to run to school without wasting anymore minutes. Thank God for my relatively high stamina. Once I reached the school's gate, I prayed that Hibari would be in the reception room, and not patrolling the school grounds. I stopped a little to catch my breath, and try to think of a reasonable excuse to why I was late. The gate was locked, so I had to scale the fence to get into the school. I breathed a breath of relief, when I wasn't caught. I started walking toward class until I felt a familiar presence behind me.

"Shit," I swore, and turned around with a smile plastered on my face.

"Hey Kyoya, how you doing today?"

"Herbivore, for being late I will bite you to death." He growled as he whipped out his tonfas.

"As much as I would love to fight with you, Kyoya, you see, I have to get to class, and you wouldn't want me later than I already am, do you?" I asked nervously, backing up. I really was not in the mood to fight Kyoya today, and knowing him, I would not get away unscathed. I sighed when I realized that there was no getting out of this. Kyoya was already in his fighting stance.

"Seriously?" I asked as he rushed forward and swung at my side, "You are too slow!" I knew I was probably going to regret my words, but if I was going to fight him, might as well have a little fun, right? I continued dodging his barrage of attacks, but I never attacked him. He didn't really think before he struck, so it was kinda easy to predict his next move. But he had speed on his side. That boy was fast; whenever I would evade one of his attacks, he would waste no time in swinging at me again. This continued for a little while, him swinging at me, me dodging his attacks, and I knew this fight wouldn't be about skill, just who had the better stamina. But at this rate I was getting really tired and dodging took a lot more effort than attacking. I knew that soon I had to go on the offensive, if I ever wanted a chance of winning this.

'Wait,' I thought…'I'm honestly too tired to do much of anything right now. Damn Seralyn and her stupid vision visits; it really drained me of my energy. If I wanna get out of here in one piece, this stupid fight needs to stop. Right now.' As I was thinking, Kyoya's tonfa came dangerously close to my face, and I grabbed it with my right hand. I saw Kyoya smirk, and I immediately knew I made a mistake, even though I had no idea what I did wrong. When I felt pain bloom in my hand, and heard drops of blood fall to the ground I swore.

"Fuck. What kind of tonfa has spikes?" I tried to ignore the pain, and I grabbed the tonfa even harder, not caring as the spikes dug into my hand even more. I saw Kyoya's widen his eyes just a little bit, and I knew I had the upper hand. I grabbed his tonfa, which he was still holding, and swung it upwards over my head, bringing Kyoya with it. He seemed to be smart enough to let go, and he landed back on the floor in a graceful crouch. I threw his tonfa that was stained with my blood to the side, and now he had only one. But my eyes widened in surprise as he pulled another one out from his sleeve.

"Now, where were we?" He asked menacingly, as he rushed forward to strike me again. There was a strike aimed toward my head, and I knew I was not fast enough to evade it, so grudgingly I pulled out my gun and blocked his attack. Metal met metal, as my gun and his tonfa clashed together. As I pulled away and jumped backward, I surveyed the damage done to my gun. The barrel was bent, completely distorting the original shape making it completely useless. I growled, and glared at him, and he just smirked back at me.

"I will not let you hurt Beatrix, and get away with it you bastard! But unfortunately I have to go. I will avenge Beatrix later!" (Yes, I named my guns, don't judge) With that said, I ran as fast as I could, clutching my bloodied hand close to me. I ran inside the school building, and ran straight into the school infirmary. I saw Shamal, and grabbed the bent barrel of Beatrix, and pistol whipped him, effectively knocking him out. I did not have time to deal with perverted doctors. I rummaged around a little until I found bandages and disinfectant, and quickly dealt with my hand.

After I was done with that I ran to my classroom, and opened the door. Bowing deeply I apologized.

"Sorry Sensei I was late. I had a run in with a stray cat, and it kind of attacked me, but I'm fine now." Sensei just nodded and I made my way over to my seat. I looked out the window, and saw Kyoya rampaging the school grounds. He was probably super pissed that I ran away, but what can I say? I like living very much. I turned back, and Gokudera looked at my wrapped up hand with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Kyoya," I answered, and Gokudera nodded and turned back to his work. Before I could focus on my work, I heard the distinct sounds of fighting on the roof.

'Hmmm…' I thought, 'Kyoya seems to have found somebody else to take his anger out on. I'm glad it's not me anymore.'

A/N: Whooooo! Double update! I am on a role. Anyway, Ari is a guardian, the moon guardian to be exact, and there was a hint in her name. Matsuki. Tsuki is moon in Japanese, so I thought that I would throw that in there. This chapter was kind of boring, forgive me and treat this chapter as my practice for writing fight scenes… or, lack on one in this case. But next chapter should have some answers surrounding the new ring and other stuff. Again, this fight scene wasn't even a fight scene but whatever, my fight scene skills will be put to the test during the ring battles, so I hope you guys are looking forward to them. ~Until next time. (=^._.^=)


	18. Blast From The Past

Target 17: Blast From The Past (Ari POV)

I put the half ring on my middle finger, and felt wind rush past my ears. I felt like I was being transported somewhere, and I shut my eyes involuntarily. When I felt my feet hit solid ground, I opened them slowly. I found myself in an Italian style living room, and there was a person in front of me. All I could see was the tips of his hair, because he was buried behind mounds of paper work. It seemed like he couldn't see me. Suddenly the door opened, and a girl cam skipping in. She had white wavy hair down to her waist, and had bright lavender eyes.

"Oh, Giotto!" The girl cried in a sing-songy tone.

'Giotto?' I thought, 'What a weird name. And who is this chick?'

"I'm sorry Seralyn," (That's who she was,) "But I don't have time today, I have to deal with all this paper work." Giotto said, his head still down, his hand signing paper after paper.

Seralyn was originally standing by the door, but when I blinked, she was already next to Giotto's desk. She giggled and waved her hand. All the paper work miraculously disappeared, and Giotto sighed and looked up.

'Whoa, what the fuck is happening?' I thought, 'how could she have made all that paper disappear?'

"Seralyn," Giotto sighed, "Can you please make my paper work appear again? I really have to sign all these papers by the end of the day." Seralyn crossed her arms, and slightly pouted.

"Ever since you started the Vongola, you've spent no time with me!" Seralyn complained, whining like a little child. "And you know, we technically share the title of the boss, so why don't you let me help? I won't give you back you paperwork until you kiss me."

Seralyn turned her back to Giotto, but I could see that she really wanted him to kiss her. Giotto sighed for the nth time and stood up. In one fluid motion he turned Seralyn around, and pecked her on the lips. When he pulled away, Seralyn smirked, and pulled him in for a deeper kiss. I couldn't help but turn away out of embarrassment. The scene switched again, and I found shivering involuntarily as I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a room that seemed entirely made up of gray stones, that was dirty and freezing, and there was a tiny window, too small for anybody to climb out of but big enough to look out of. I make my way over to the window and peeked out. I looked like I was in some turret in some medieval looking castle. I turned around when I heard the sound of chains scraping against the floor. What I saw made my jaw drop. I saw Seralyn, broken and tattered chained to a bed. She was wearing a simple shift dress that I'm pretty sure used to be white, but was now stained with age and color. Her once white and wavy locks were greasy and straggly, clumping together, and tangling in knots. She had hollows around her eyes, and the skin on her wrists and ankles were rubbed raw, thanks to the iron chains constantly chaffing them.

When I first looked at her, she looked sickly, broken, and malnourished, but her eyes were still as bright as they used to be, glowing defiantly against her pale and translucent skin.

She was not completely broken yet.

"Giotto, Giotto," I heard her mutter over and over again.

I turned away; the sight of another human being treated under such poor conditions too much for me to bear. When I gathered my wits and turned around again, hoping to be transported somewhere else, I found myself in the same room, but it seemed that some time had passed since the last time I was there.

Now Giotto was sitting on the bed, with Seralyn in his arms. I knew that she didn't have much time left, because she was slightly panting, and it looked painful just to breathe.

"Giotto," I heard her say, her voice raspy and soft, "Promise me one thing."

"Ok, anything..." Giotto replied.

That one sentence seemed to drain Seralyn of her energy, but she continued to talk anyway.

"Promise me that no one will have to bear the responsibilities of this ring ever again." She paused to take a few breaths and then continued.

"This ring is cursed, and it will kill whoever is wearing it, so please, get rid of it."

As Seralyn said these last words, she slipped the ring off her finger, and placed it into Giotto's palm. Her arm went limp, and her eyes glazed over.

I looked down at my ring in horror.

'Wait…didn't Giotto promise Seralyn that nobody would have this ring again? So what's it doing on my finger? Oh shit, I'm going to die, and it is going to be this ring's fault.'

Before I knew up, I was back in the living room on a couch.

"I see you are finally awake," I heard Maman say from the kitchen; "I have to scold the boys for not letting you sleep." I laughed a bit sheepishly and looked at the clock. At this time Tsuna and the others should be out of school in a few minutes. Damn…I was asleep for a whole entire school day. I have so much makeup work to do.

"Ari-chan, do you mind supervising Lambo, I-Pin, and Fuuta? They're really jittery from staying in the house all day and want to go out for a walk" Maman requested while she was _still_ cooking.

"Sure, Maman. Lambo, I-Pin, Fuuta, come on! I'll take you guys out for a walk." Once everybody was gathered, we met up with Kyoko and Haru at the park. We played a little there, mainly just to tire the kids out before dinner.

We made small talk, until I realized that the kids were missing. Kyoko and Haru were deep into their conversation, and I really needed to find the kids, so I managed to slip away without them noticing.

"Geez, where could they be?" I muttered to myself. The sun was setting and it was getting pretty dark. I continued to walk around a little until I saw a crepe truck.

'Lambo!' I thought, 'Of course.' I ran after the crepe truck, until I stumbled upon three familiar kids.

"Guys, don't sneak away like that!" I scolded, all the worry leaving me.

"Ari-nee!" Fuuta yelled in delight, "Thank goodness you found us. Lambo's hungry and tired."

"Carry me!" Lambo cried, still clinging onto Fuuta's leg.

"Alright, alright, whatever, I'll carry you, just stop whining." I grumbled, as I grabbed onto his afro, and held him at arm's length.

"It hurts, it hurts. Put me down, put me down!" Lambo cried squirming against my grasp.

I dropped him on his butt, "Fine then; walk by yourself." We turned around and were about to head home, when this guy dressed in all black stood in front of us.

"Well, you want to play with Lambo? Lambo's so popular." Lambo boasted as he walked toward the hella suspicious looking guy. The guy then whipped out a big stick.

"Lambo, you baka!" I cried, but it was too late, and Lambo was already brushed to the side. Then I-Pin tried to land a flying kick, but the guy easily swatted her away. I caught her as she flew back towards us, and set her down next to Fuuta.

"You stay here ok?" I asked. As the hairs on the back of my neck started tingling, I turned around and whipped out one of my kunai to block his weird antennae-sword thingie. I was doing fine; I could hold him off for a bit, he didn't seem _that_ much stronger than me. But, I thought that too early as I felt electrical currents shoot through my right arm and burn my hand. I jumped backwards, swearing under my breath.

"Oh, well that's why my hair was getting frizzy," I muttered, patting my ends with my non-burnt hand.

"What are we supposed to do now?!" Fuuta cried, picking up a whining Lambo and mildly injured I-Pin.

"Well," I started, clutching my hand with the boo-boo. "In situations like these, there is something I always do. That is, RUN!" I took off in a sprint, but made sure Fuuta and the babies were right at my heels. Rounding a corner, my eyes caught a familiar idiotic face.

"Tsuna-nii!" Fuuta called out in joy.

"Everyone, watch out!" Tsuna warned. I glanced back and caught sight of that weird sword ready to strike at the kids. I took a split second to assess the situation. Tsuna was useless at the moment, Reborn wouldn't make it in time, fuck my life- I turned around and dived over the kids, hoping to shield them with my body, or at least, mostly shield them with my body. 'I just hope my death will be quick, my pain tolerance isn't as high as everyone thinks it is.' I waited for the pain for one second… two seconds… five seconds…

"Ok this is getting ridiculous!" I scoffed, getting off the ground. "Am I dead yet or-" Seeing a familiar wrapped hand smoking, I immediately knew what happened. "Oh, thanks Ryohei,"

"Vongola Family's Sun Guardian and Colonello's number one student…Sasagawa Ryohei cometh!" He screamed, in his signature loud voice.

"It's not over yet," Reborn bemused, and just then, another guy jumped out of the bushes. He was easily taken out in one strike though, by Yamamoto's bat-sword thingie. We heard explosions, and I knew Gokudera joined the party.

Gokudera and Yamamoto stood besides Ryohei.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Laughed Yamamoto.

"Don't tell me this stupid cow got a ring?" Gokudera scoffed, looking at Lambo in disgust.

"Who holds the thunder ring?" A man with a pedo mustache said in a deep voice. "Don't tell me it's that curly-hair brat over there?"

"Hey, Levi you have to share the prey." A blonde kid with a tiara on his head said.

The weird looking people started to get into an argument with Tsuna's friends, and I just looked on. Then a guy with scars on his face moved to the front. I presumed he was the leader.

"I thought I would never see him again," I heard Reborn say, "Xanxus."

I was half listening to their conversation, and then Iemitsu decided to show up. He held up a piece of paper that had a weird flame on it, and said it was the Ninth's orders to hold a decisive battle, to see who will keep the rings, and who will be the rightful successor, and Vongola Tenth.

I just stood there, and tried to absorb as much information as possible.

'Whatever,' I thought, 'This doesn't really make sense, but I can always go to Yuki for an explanation.'

I snapped my attention back up at Iemitsu when he started talking.

"We will begin the decisive battle between Tsuna's family, and the Varia."

A/N: Another chappie done! Thank you to all who read, reviewed, favorite, and followed! I'm so excited, the ring battles are coming up! And some mysterious surrounding Ari's ring has been hopefully cleared up in this chapter. It's ok, you will learn more about the history of the ring in upcoming chapters. ~Until next time! Love y'all ;)


	19. The 8th Guardian

Target 18: The 8th Guardian (Yuki POV)

"A one-on-one battle between those who have the same ring!" I heard Iemitsu declare, from my hiding spot behind a house.

"A fight?" I heard Tsuna shriek.

"Yep, a fight. After that it just says wait for instructions." Iemitsu replied.

I heard a leaves rustling and peeked out from behind the building. Two girls jumped out of a tree with amazing agility.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," I heard them say in perfect unison, also in a kind of robotic voice.

"During this ring conflict, we will be the judges." One of them said.

"Who are they?" Tsuna asked.

"We are the Cervello Organization, who serves directly under the Ninth." The other one replied. "During this ring conflict, our decisions are that of the Ninth's."

I decided I was done with hiding, and stepped out from behind the house.

"Ah yes, the Cervello," I said, succeeding in my plan to get everyone's attention. "The Cervello are an elite all-female organization whose specialty is to judge fairly without bias. Even if they do favor one side over the other." I turned and stared at one of the Cervello, but she didn't seem to falter under my gaze.

"I already know that you favor the Varia over Tsuna's family," I continued, still locking eyes with the Cervello, "I hope that your judging is fair." I finally looked away, and turned to look at the Varia.

"You guys are early," I stated nonchalantly, "You guys weren't supposed to be here until a few more days." I could feel Reborn's obsidian eyes boring holes into the back of my skull as I said that.

"VOOOIIIII! Who is this brat?" Squalo yelled pointing hid sword hand at me. "Acting like you know us, who are you?!" I just gave Squalo a blank look and turned back to the Cervello.

"Continue whatever you were going to say," I smiled, "Sorry for interrupting."

"The Ninth believes that this measure will please everyone in the family." They turned to Xanxus, "Any objections, Xanxus-sama?" He just looked at them, and they nodded.

"Thank you very much."

"Wait, I have an objection," Iemitsu broke in, "Even I have never heard of the Cervello Organization. How can I allow you to judge when the future of the Vongola is at stake?"

"We do not recognize your objection," The Cervello announced. "We serve under the Ninth, and cannot be commanded by the likes of you."

Iemitsu looked super pissed off at this statement. The Cervello continued on with their explanation, totally ignoring Iemitsu.

"Usually one set of the Half Vongola Rings are held by the boss, and the other held by the external advisor. And during the announcement of the successor, a complete ring is given to the designated seven. However-"

"This time is different." I interrupted. Even thought the expressions on the Cervello's faces remained neutral, I'm pretty sure they were miffed that I kept interrupting them.

"Sorry, you guys just aren't getting to the point fast enough. May I continue?" I took the Cervello's silence as a 'yes.'

"As you can see, this time there is an exception. The sets of seven chosen by the boss and the external advisor do not match, and each handed out the Half Rings to whoever they chose. One set to Xanxus and the Varia, and the other set to Tsuna and his family." I stopped to take a breath and pause, but the Cervello interrupted me before I could say anymore. I guess I got a taste of my own medicine.

"Now we'll prove which more worthy of the Rings by making you bet your lives on them." The Cervello said, one finishing the other's sentence.

"The location will be Nami-Chuu late at night. We will explain the details there. We will be waiting for you at 11:00 tomorrow evening. Everyone has all their guardians lined up, yes?"

Tsuna looked at Reborn in panic.

"Reborn!" He whisper-shouted, "You have all our guardians don't you?"

"Yes, Tsuna, he does," I replied, and Tsuna looked up at me in surprise. "But I'm not sure Varia has them all yet. There are 8 guardians. I only count seven on your side." I looked over at them, gauging their reactions.

"VOOIII! What do you mean by that, scum? Boss, do I have permission to cut her up?" Squalo asked, looking at Xanxus. I think I might have been mincemeat if the Cervello had not intervened.

"Please refrain from killing one another outside the ring battles." The Cervello stated bluntly. Squalo just tsked and looked away.

"Too bad," I taunted, "I'm not one of the guardians, so you will unfortunately not get the chance to kill me."

"Yuki, shut up. Now," Ari warned. I shrugged, but stopped talking.

The Cervello then turned to me.

"Will you care to elaborate on what you mean by there is 8 guardians? There are only 7. Sky, Storm, Rain, Cloud, Lightening, Mist, and Sun. What is the 8th?"

I laughed, "Hey, blonde prince person, you are holding the box with the rings right? Take the velvet out and look under it." The person, I think his name was Bel, did as I instructed and held up another half ring.

"Good luck finding a person with those attributes!" I giggled.

"Hey Squalo, put this ring on and see what it does!" Bel said throwing the ring to Squalo.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Squalo." I advised, "Last person who wore the ring died." I saw Ari stiffen out of the corner of my eye.

"Then it is only reasonable if we have this match last right?" A guy with flamboyant hair and attitude asked.

"We will take it into consideration, and have the battle last, so that Xanxus-sama can find a guardian." The Cervello replied.

"Sayonara," They said, as they jumped back into the tree.

The Varia followed them, and soon it was just Tsuna's family left standing on the street.

"Reborn, this is getting repetitive," I sighed, as I felt a familiar gun being pointed to the back of my head.

"You knew this was going to happen didn't you?" Reborn asked his voice clam and steely.

"What if I did? That wouldn't change anything would it?" I reasoned, "You know it really sucks knowing all this information, and not being able to tell anybody because it would change the entire future."

I felt the gun dig deeper into my scalp.

"You know the outcome of the ring conflict don't you?" Reborn questioned again, pressing his gun harder into my head.

"I wouldn't tell you anyway so can you please remove your gun from my head? I'm pretty sure you left a dent or something." I asked, as nicely as I could. Reborn grudgingly removed his gun, and Leon turned back into his original form.

"Come on guys, let's go home." Ari suggested, "We have school tomorrow anyway."

* * *

The next day I met up with everybody to walk to school like we always did.

"I didn't really sleep well last night," Tsuna confessed, and Yammy nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't really either." Yammy agreed. Then Gokudera ran up with a box of paper airplanes.

"What are you going to do with those?" Ari asked, curious.

"Oh, these are for my training; I'm heading up to the mountains right now." Gokudera replied smiling.

"Actually, Dino should be training Hibari as we speak," I added, "And I slept like a rock last night."

"Ya me too," Ari said.

Soon we had to part ways, and we continued to walk towards Nami-Chuu, minus Ari. When we neared the entrance, I excused myself from the group.

"Hey, guys, I'll join you in just a bit, kay?" I said, as I walked u the stairs toward the roof. I can't say the sight I was greeted with surprised me. There was Kyoya and Dino, with Romario of course, and they looked pretty exhausted. There were an assortment of cuts and bruises on both of them, and they both looked like they had been fighting for a really long time.

"As expected of the problem child," I chuckled, "How long you guys been going at it?"

Dino looked at me and smiled sheepishly, "It's been three day now." I whistled in appreciation.

"Ne, Hibari, Dino here needs a break. He is getting up there in his years now." I giggled.

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Dino complained, and I winked at him, "I'm giving you an opening here Jiji, take it and don't whine."

"I'm okay with it. That herbivore was starting to get boring," Kyoya admitted, "But now I can bite this new prey to death." Soon Kyoya rushed at me again, but I side-stepped and evaded his attack.

"Sorry Dino, that's all the rest you get, I have to go to class!" I called over my shoulder, as I jumped off the roof, and landed on the window sill of my classroom. I looked in making sure it actually was my classroom, and knocked on the window. I seemed to get Tsuna's attention, and the look on his face was priceless.

"Tsuna, open the window!" I screamed, hoping he would hear me through the glass. He seemed to get the message, as he walked over to unlatch the window. When it was opened, I hopped in, and shut the window behind me. I put my stuff down by my desk, and I saw Kyoko and Hana approach Tsuna. Kyoko looked worried and a little distressed.

"Tsuna-kun, Onii-san has been acting weird lately."

Tsuna's eyes bugged out of his head, and I decided to step it, and save his ass.

"Don't worry about it," I nodded, "Ne, Tsuna- _kun_?" I rested my elbow on his shoulder and put a bit of pressure.

"R-right," He stammered, "You have nothing to worry about."

"It's a sumo contest!" I heard a familiar loud voice exclaim, "I'm training, because I am going to have a sumo contest with Gokudera and Yamamoto."

"What's a sumo contest?" I asked Ryohei exasperated, "No one even asked." I sighed, sat down at my desk, and proceeded to bang my forehead against the table multiple times.

"Well, Sawada is going to compete too!" Ryohei continued, ignoring the banging sounds that I was making with my head, "And Colonello likes to watch sumo."

"Oh, I see!" Kyoko answered. I continued to bang my head against the table harder, because of her ignorance. There is a limit to how far people can go with the saying 'ignorance is bliss,' I mean in her case it would be better if she didn't know, but to buy such a ridiculous excuse…is a bit extreme.

"Sawada let's go!" Ryohei yelled, dragging Tsuna out by the neck.

"Don't they seem a bit suspicious?" Hana asked, raising her eyebrows.

'Thank god, there is someone with a working brain!' I thought, and stopped banging my head on the desk.

"Oh, it's fine, it's probably a boy thing," I replied, hoping to get Hana to let it go. She just shrugged and left it at that.

* * *

Before I knew it, it was already 10:54, and I had to watch to Nami-Chuu. I stepped out of my house, and then ran back in, almost forgetting something important. I met up with Yammy, Ryohei, Tsuna, Lambo, Gokudera, and Ari.

Then the Cervello popped out of nowhere.

"The first match will be between the guardians of the sun. I turned to look at Ryohei, he seemed pretty calm.

"So my opponent is that boy," The flamboyant, probably gay dude with sunglasses said.

"So that's him," Ryohei replied back.

"We will now begin the Ring Conflict to determine who the true successor is."

A/N: I'm seriously on a roll. I looked back and I almost have 20 chapters. *GASP* It's been a little over a month since I published this story, and thank you to all who have read it. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next ones! It has just started to get good. ~Until next time! ;)


	20. Training

Target 19: Training (Ari POV)

"The first match will be the guardians of the sun," The Cervello said. I breathed a sigh of relief. They did say my match would be last though. I wonder who my opponent will be…

"Please look over there" I heard the Cervello say.

Bright lights turned on; they were so bright it looked like daytime even though it was night.

"We have prepared a special ring for the Guardians of the Sun. This time we have made a ring that benefits the specialties of the Guardians of the Sun. Likewise; we will be setting up a unique combat area for each battle.

"What!?" Tsuna shrieked, "That huge thing?"

"Guardians of the Sun, please come in the center of the ring." The Cervello announced.

"I guess I'm going now," Ryohei stated walking toward the huge ass arena.

"Hey, Tsuna, aren't we going o form a circle or something?" Yamamoto broke in.

"Ryohei turned back around, "That's great!" he exclaimed, "I've always wanted to do that, especially since boxing is an individual sport!"

Tsuna and Gokudera looked extremely troubled, and Yuki just shook her head in defeat.

Before anyone could complain though, we were all grabbed and forced into a group huddle.

"Ryohei! Fight!" He seemed like the only one totally into this.

"Yosh! I feel my extreme power overflowing!" Ryohei cried.

* * *

 _Magical Time skip to the end of Ryohei's battle, because we all know how it goes, and I'm too lazy to write it. ;)_ _Plus, you can just watch the anime…I think it's episode 41._

* * *

 **And enter Kyoko and Hana.**

"Onii-san, you promised me you wouldn't fight!" Kyoko screamed, distraught and worry laced in her tone.

Kyoko's voice seemed to bring Ryohei back to life, and he looked utterly rejuvenated.

"I'll show you the real power of this punch!" He screamed, and it looked like he was emitting a bright yellow light.

"This is the real…maximum cannon!" Ryohei delivered a punch to Lussuria's knee, and the metal plate protecting it shattered. It was obvious that Lussuria could no longer fight, and another baby with a pacifier managed to get Kyoko back home, with Hana running after her.

"That was a good fight," Ryohei stated, "Now hand over the ring."

"No! No!" Lussuria cried, "I am Varia! I'll fight you with one leg if I have too."

I couldn't help but wonder why he sounded so desperate. And then the machine called Gola Mosca shot Lussuria in the back.

"What's going on?" Yamamoto asked, confused and shocked.

"Kill the weak," Yuki replied looking totally indifferent to what was going on, "That is one of the reasons why Varia is one of the most powerful organizations."

"Right," Reborn broke in, "Lussuria panicked because he was afraid of that."

"Oi! Hang in there!" Ryohei cried. One of the Cervello stepped in front of him to prevent Ryohei from helping Lussuria.

"I'm sorry, but we must check to see if he can still fight or not."

The other Cervello announced that Lussuria could no longer fight.

"Thus, Sasagawa Ryohei is the victor in the battle over the Ring of Sun. That is the end of tonight's battle. Starting from today, we will regularly announce the following night's battle. Tomorrows match will be…thunder." We all turned our heads to look at Lambo who was sleeping peacefully.

After that, Ryohei handed the completed ring to Tsuna, and we all headed home to rest up.

* * *

It was now the next morning and I rolled out of bed. I walked to my window to pull back the curtains, but there was a familiar face peeking through the glass.

"What the fuck!?" I instinctively screamed, and drew the shades shut again.

After a few moments, I heard a tapping noise. It was really persistent and quite annoying, so I pulled back the curtains again. There, balancing precariously on my window sill looking into my room like a world class stalker/creep was none other than Kawahira Yuki.

"Are you gonna let me in or what?" She asked impatiently. I sighed and grudgingly opened the window for her to climb through.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Yuki smirked, "I'm here to train you."

"And why would you train me?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows.

"It was a request from a friend, so of course I couldn't say no." Yuki stated, quite matter-of-factly.

"What friend?" I asked, hoping to get at least one answer of out her.

"You wouldn't know her," Yuki replied back.

"Well then how does she know me?" I retorting, mentally praising myself for thinking of such a witty and snarky comeback.

"Oh, Ari here has a silver tipped tongue. Who knew you'd be so feisty?" She joked, obviously avoiding my question. I sighed, and just decided to let Yuki be as elusive as she wanted to be.

I plopped down on my bed, and hugged my body pillow.

"So, what are we going to do for training?" I asked kind of scared for the answer. All I got was a sadistic smirk in reply.

* * *

I was currently doubled over, hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. Today I was skipping school in order to go through Yuki's training regimen. I was still panting hard, when I felt a bullet almost graze my cheek.

"You done resting?" Yuki called never looking up from her Ipad.

"I don't get how this is supposed to help me!" I yelled at her, all while dodging a barrage of bullets.

"You need to work on your speed and agility. Those are the fundamental skills you need; then we can get on to real training." She replied, now shooting at me with two guns instead of one.

We went at this for over an hour, until Yuki stopped shooting at me.

"Shit," I heard her mutter. "You're lucky I ran out of bullets! If I remembered to pack my spare ammo, we would have been going at this for way longer." She jumped down from her perch on top of a tree. Oh yeah, did I mention we were currently in the forest?

Suddenly she raised her gun, and I saw her finger pull the trigger. It was like everything was moving in slow motion; I could kind of see the bullet as it left the barrel, and that gave me ample time to dodge it. But I was still not quite fast enough.

"Bitch!" I cursed, as the bullet ripped my shirt, but thankfully didn't touch my skin, "I thought you said you ran out of bullets!"

"Did I?" She asked the total picture of innocence; or at least trying to be, but totally failing at it.

"I guess you shouldn't trust everything I say. Anyway, your reflexes and speed have greatly improved after just an hour of me shooting at you. Can't you see my training is already working?"

I did have to admit that if she hadn't shot at me earlier, there was no way I could dodge that shot without taking some type of damage. Now all the damage I got was a ripped shirt.

"Ok, moving on to out next phase of training. Hand-to-hand combat. I take it, that's not one of your strong points?'

I nodded, "My specialties were throwing projectiles, and mid-range combat, not close range. During my self-defense classes I would also get my ass kicked in hand-to-hand."

"Right," Yuki mussed, "So tell me, you said you were involved in the Canadian mafia?"

"Yeah," I replied, "My father was a boss of the Rizzuto Family. I was taught everything like how to defuse a bomb to how to hotwire a car. I was also taught many fighting styles, and taught to handle many types of weapons." But I laughed bitterly at this, "Even though I was taught all these things, doesn't mean I excelled at everyone. I am especially bad at hand-to-hand, and guns. I hate guns."

"Hey! Beatrix and Steiner take offense to that," Yuki cried, cradling her guns close to her.

I scoffed, "You named your guns? And that, plus it's a Final Fantasy reference?"

"Got a problem with that?" Yuki challenged, her eyes gleaming, "Anyway, enough chit-chatting, let's get on to actual fighting. We will now be doing hand-to-hand, but there's catch. You are going to be blindfolded." Yuki must have seen me tense up because she laughed, "Relax, I won't kill you. You just need to focus on hand-to-hand using your other senses besides sight."

Yuki then took out a bandanna and motioned for me to turn around.

"Stop pouting," Yuki chided, and I sucked in my bottom lip. I didn't even know I was pouting.

"Fine," I heard her sigh, "Would it be fairer if I was blindfolded too?"

"Hell yeah," I snapped, and Yuki took the bandana out of her hair, and gave it to me. I tied it around her head, and Yuki took the other bandana out of my hand. I widened my eyes in surprise, 'How did she know the bandana was there?'

"Stop looking so shocked," I heard Yuki say, "I kind of made it easier for myself. Smell the bandana, doesn't it smell unique?" I caught a whiff of the scent, and gagged.

"Yeah, it smells like old lady." I replied, trying to breathe through my mouth.

"Hey!" I heard Yuki object, "I sprayed the bandanas with my favorite perfume so I know exactly where you are!" I felt wind blow some hairs across my face, and I presumed that wind was generated by Yuki's movements. I ducked, and spun in a circle, with one leg tucked under me and one leg stuck out, hoping to trip Yuki.

"Not bad," I heard her acknowledge, but now her voice seemed like it was coming behind me. I immediately whipped around, only to be met by a kick. I managed to block in time though, and I skidded back a few meters, my arms talking the brunt of that attack.

"I don't get why we have to do this blindfolded," I confessed, while we continued to exchange blows.

"Trust me, you'll thank me later!" Yuki giggled gleefully. We stopped after a while, and I removed my bandana, and was immediately assaulted by the blinding sun.

"Jesus, it's bright!" I exclaimed squinting my eyes. Once my eyes had adjusted to the light, I looked over at Yuki. She seemed to have no problem with the sun. Realization then bitch slapped me across the face.

"You bitch!" I growled, "You weren't blindfolded at all were you?"

"Took you long enough to figure out," She deadpanned, "And here I thought I could get away with it too."

"Like hell!" I hissed, charging at Yuki at full speed.

"My, my, I now have an angry Ari on a rampage," Yuki mused, dodging each of my attacks.

"I won't waste my energy on you," She bluntly stated, after she managed to knock the kunai from my hand. "Don't charge at me recklessly like that again, only charge at someone when you know you can beat them mkay?"

Her bright violet orbs bore into mine questionably, and I looked away in slight embarrassment.

"Fine," I muttered in agrrement.

"Okay, training is over for today, let's head back now." Yuki suggested, and I nodded again.

In no time we found ourselves at the gate of Nami-Chuu.

"Oh, and when I said training was over. I was lying." Yuki winked at me, and I groaned out loud.

"Have you tried taking off the ring?" Yuki asked, and I looked at her in confusion.

"I take that as a no," She replied, "Here, try to take it off now. Consider it…training," I just looked at her like she was crazy, and tried to pry the half ring off my middle finger. It wouldn't budge a centimeter.

"Ok, I knew my fingers were chubby but not this chubby," I muttered to myself, as I continued my pitiful attempt at taking my ring off.

'Was it just me, or does Yuki look relieved, almost happy?' I thought to myself, as I saw an odd expression cross her face. Soon it had been 20 minutes, and there was no progress in me taking off the ring. Suddenly the bell rang and students just flooded out the doors, like water being poured into a glass. I continued in my futile attempt at removing my ring, until I spied the familiar faces of Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Tsuna. Yuki called them over, and in no time there was a little competition going on. Whoever removed my ring would get bragging rights, and be Tsuna's right hand man. (This was all Reborn's idea.)

Of course this made Gokudera totally set on removing my ring. Obviously though, even with all the tactics they tried, my ring was still very much on my finger.

"You guys know your efforts are useless right?" Yuki broke in after hours of unsuccessful attempts.

"And why is that?" Reborn asked, curiosity taking over.

"Because the ring chose her, and it is never leaving her finger. Ever."

 **Omake!**

We heard the sound of breaking glass, and looked up to see a boy with black hair jumping out a window. Oh, did I say _out_ a window? I meant _through_ a window.

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna squeaked in surprise.

"Baby," He said, addressing Reborn, and I saw he had an armband around his jacket that said 'disciplinary committee.'

"Fight me," He declared, whipping out tonfas, and getting into a fighting stance.

"Now, don't get ahead of yourself Hibari," Reborn responded coolly. Then he looked at me, and his eyes glinted with a mischievous gleam. Reborn pointed to me.

"Hey, Hibari. If you can manage to take off her ring, I'll let you fight me."

"Hn. Why would I be interested in such an herbivorous task?" He scoffed, looking away.

"Because only the strongest of the strong can take it off," Yuki piped up, "And if you do manage to do it, you get to fight Reborn."

I could see the unmistakable blood thirsty look in his eyes as he mulled over the deal.

"Ok, I'll do it," Hibari finally said. He walked over to me and gave the ring a tentative tug. Then he tugged even harder. That boy was damn strong; I thought that my finger would pop out of its socket.

Suddenly there were a lot of people who looked the same because they had the same hairstyle. I felt myself behind held back, as Hibari tried to twist the ring off my finger.

"Pull harder you herbivores," Hibari growled through gritted teeth.

" _Mon Dieu! Je mourrai! Je mourrai! Oh la vache, j'ai douleur!"_ I screamed while grabbing onto the first thing I could get my hands on. Unfortunately that had to be the Disciplinary Committee's vice president Kusukabe's pompadour. I ripped it off, and threw it with all my might.

(Of course with anime physics he was totally fine the next day.)

"Oh yeah, Ari reverts back to French when she's scared or in immense pain." Yuki informed.

Suddenly Hibari let go, and I was sent flying a long with the rest of the Disciplinary Committee.

Out of nowhere Hibari whipped out a cutting board and yanked me back on my feet. He roughly grabbed my hand, and slammed it down on the cutting board.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" I heard Yuki yell as she was picking her way toward me, steeping over all the unconscious bodies.

"This is how you do it," She brought out her gun, and turned the safety off.

"Bitch, whose side are you on!?" I screamed, horrified that she would actually consider shooting my finger off.

"Tch, woman." Gokudera muttered, "Step aside, you have to use this," He brandished one of my kunai and held it up.

"Where the fuck did you get that? That's mine!" I demanded, trying to grab it with my left hand.

The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital with no recollection of what happened. I looked down at my right hand, and I saw it was in a cast.

"How the hell did that happen?!"

A/N: Whoot whoot, Ryohei's battle done. Now I just have to write all the rest of them, and then head on to the future arc! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and the omake at the end. Next chapter is going to be my 20th! Thank you to everybody who has supported me so far, I never really thanked you.

Thank you to:

Purplelillies2476, ChocolateManiac, Cookiezfreak, Dele124, Emerald180, Jeanxjeans, PurpleRoses2168, Starawesomeness2, YatogamiKushina, AmberTales, Almakarma18, koreanlover21873, Nanobb, xXSakuraAkariXx (I love your story btw;), and MagicAssassinDogDemon.


	21. Birthday Special!

Target 20: Birthday Special! (Yuki POV)

"Today is my birthday!" I said in a singsongy tone in the shower. I was in a very happy mood today and nothing was going to make this day terrible. I had the best party planned, and Father was out of town on a business trip. He even rented me hotel lobby and ballroom. Father was the best. I had a bunch of fun games planned out too. (Let's just say that I instructed everybody who was invited to bring an extra set of clothes ;) It would be better if I didn't have to go to school, but alas, school was school, and I had to attend.

At school everyone was buzzing about my party, since I technically invited the whole grade, and everybody knew that I was hosting it in a fancy hotel. At lunch I was on the rooftop as per usual with Tsuna and Company, still inviting random people to come to my party.

* * *

Right now I really wanted to just rip all my hair out and then curl up into a ball and die. Remember when I said nothing could bring my mood down? Well right now my mood was murdered. I was currently yelling at the hotel staff to get all my preparations in order, only to find that my cake order was given to somebody else, so they had to make a new one, the prop bag holding all my items to play the games were currently missing, my party manager, Ms. Riko called me saying that her father was in the hospital because of kidney stones and she couldn't make it to my party. So right now, I was technically the party manager of my own party. Today was a day were I was suppose to relax, I was going to get my nails done, and then go to hair salon and get my hair and makeup done. It was suppose to be a very nice and relaxing day leading up to the party. But no, here I was running around like a madwoman, yelling t the incompetent staff to just work with me. I kinda looked like a madwoman too. I was very a bathrobe that said 'birthday girl' on the back courtesy of the hotel. I was walking barefoot with toe separators in between my toes because I had just gotten them done, and the polish was still wet. My hair was also in curlers, with half of my face on. (As in I only had makeup on the right side of my face.) The makeup artist was currently trying to put the rest of my makeup on, but it was probably hard for her since I was running around yelling out orders on what had to be done, and what had to be fixed.

After everything had calmed down just the tinniest bit, I saw a few familiar faces. It was Tsuna and his crew, with Ari, Haru, Kyoko, Nana, and Bianchi. (Bianchi was wearing sunglasses so we didn't have a fainting Gokudera.)

"Here, happy birthday," Bianchi said while holding something in a container. I knew what it was but I was afraid to ask.

"Nana told me about the cake incident, so I decided to bake you one!" Bianchi declared proudly, while everyone just sweatdropped. I managed a small smile.

"Why thank you for your thoughtfulness," I said, my mind in overdrive. I couldn't let my guests eat this, they'll die!

"I'll just go put this in the kitchen then," Bianchi replied loftily, as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Yam!" I hissed, and he came over. I handed him a ping pong ball that I found and pointed to Bianchi.

"Baseball!" I saw his eyes narrow and become serious for once. He lifted his leg, and threw the ball with all his might. I knew that the ball would not hurt Bianchi; it's just that we needed that cake to be taken care of. The ball sailed over the top of Bianchi's head, and smashed into the cake container. I could see the container fall forward, and I breathed a sigh of relief when it fell out of Bianchi's hands. When it did fall, it fell on one of the flower arrangements, and I watched as the cake melted through the plastic, and all the flowers wilted as purple smoking began permeating the room. When Bianchi turned to look back at us, we all turned away, feigning innocence. She seemed to buy it though, blaming the wire that was so conveniently right at her feet.

She looked at me, "I'm sorry about that Yuki, I seemed to have tripped on the wire."

"Oh, that's fine Bianchi, I think that the bakery sent over another cake anyway." I replied, thankful that we avoided a case of food poisoning.

"Ah, Yuki-chan, don't you want to finish getting ready?" Tsuna asked a bit hesitantly, looking at my current state of being.

"We can handle the rest of your preparations!" Yam declared, "So go get ready and relax."

"Relax to the extreme!" Ryohei chimed in, fist pumping. I teared up.

"You guys…" I said sucking in my tears so I wouldn't screw up my makeup. I was so thankful that I had such amazing friends. I walked over and promptly gave everyone a kiss on the cheek, and then took all the girls with me to get ready too.

I led them behind a curtain, and gestured to the other makeup and hair artists waiting on standby.

"Here you go, y'all finally have some work to do." I ushered all the girls to the artists, and they immediately began fixing them.

"It's my treat guys, so get pampered all you want!" I yelled gleefully, finally getting time to rest.

When everyone was done getting ready, I stepped out of the curtain and Tsuna called me over.

"Hey, Yuki-chan! Happy birthday! I'm sorry that we have to leave your party early but Lambo's battle is tonight. We can stay until 10:45 though." Tsuna voice had dropped to a whisper now. When I heard that it was Lambo's battle immediately I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to hit myself for forgetting. Today was going to be Lambo's battle. _Lambo's_ battle. I knew that it wouldn't end well, but the details were fuzzy. Recently, I felt like I couldn't remember things as well anymore, and I felt like I was forgetting a lot of important details.

"Yuki-chan, are you okay?" Tsuna's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine…" I said a bit distracted. Now I doubted whether or not to go through with this party. I knew that Lambo would be critically injured, but I couldn't remember whether he survived or not. I was also debating on whether or not telling Tsuna, but I knew that Tsuna would interfere anyway, without my help.

I started fiddling around with a flower arrangement, trying to will myself to remember.

' _Think! Think! Remember what happens!'_ The little voice in my head screamed. I tried, honestly I did, but I couldn't remember what happened. And it was whether Lambo would die or survive.

"Tsuna," I called out, and he turned around to face me again. "Promise me Lambo won't get hurt," I knew that Lambo would end up getting hurt, but he wouldn't get as hurt, because Tsuna interfered.

"I promise," He replied, his eyes glowing bright orange from his resolve, and I shot him a shaky smile.

* * *

It turns out I left my own birthday party early and I was walking toward Nami-Chuu with Ari.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Ari confessed, and I couldn't help but to agree with her.

"Trust me, there _is_ something wrong." I said, walking as fast as I could with 5 inch stilettos on my feet. When we heard faint sounds of screaming and we both looked at each other. We then proceeded to take off our shoes and sprinted up to the roof where the battle was being held.

"Who are you?" We heard a deep voice say. I totally forgot about the guards that were guarding the arena.

"We are with the Vongola," I replied, and the person asked us if we had any proof. Ari and looked at each other and shrugged; we couldn't waste anymore time. Ari threw one of her shoes at the person, and the heel managed to hit him square on the forehead. Then I grabbed Beatrix (She was all fixed now) and pistol whipped him. Our little fight seemed to attract the attention of the other guards and soon we were surrounded with 4 guys from the Varia.

"Oh my god, we seriously don't have time for this," Ari muttered, and I nodded. I pulled out my special gun, and then shot all the guys. They all fell to the ground, and Ari looked at me in horror.

"Did you kill them?!" She asked her eyes wide.

"No, I didn't kill them; I just shot them with needles that had a sedative on it. They should come to in a few minutes. Now let's get out of here!" I yelled, and Ari retrieved her shoe, and followed me.

"Shit," I cursed. We just had to walk in on the part where Lambo was being electrocuted mercilessly. We were panting heavily, and then Tsuna's eyes met mine.

I could see the struggle in his eyes. He knew that if he interfered, his sky ring would get taken, but he also knew that if he didn't interfere, Lambo would die. I stuck out my pinky, and mouthed the word, 'promise' Tsuna seemed to understand and yelled,

"Wait!"

"Where are you going?" Reborn asked, "You know you'll be disqualified." Tsuna looked at me again, and gave him an encouraging smile. Tsuna turned back to Reborn.

"I know that," He replied, "but I need to protect Lambo!"

Iemitsu looked proud of Tsuna, smiled a little. Reborn's lips also quirked up in a little smile, and he tipped his head down.

"I guess I don't have a choice." Reborn concluded.

Suddenly, Levi called up a bunch of thunder, and everyone held their breath as he brought it down, fully intent on killing Lambo.

When the smoke cleared, there was Tsuna standing there in his Hyper Dying Will Mode. After some praise by Gokudera, Yam, and Ryohei, Reborn looked up and we made eye contact. We stayed like that for a moment, and then he lowered his head, his hat covering his eyes. But I could see the smallest of smiles ghosting across his face.

Tsuna got his sky ring taken away, and Xanxus gave a very cocky speech. Next, they announced that Gokudera's match would be next, and I could see him look a little worried. After everybody left, Tsuna yelled out, "Lambo!" We all rushed forward to where he was lying on the ground.

"Stupid cow!" Gokudera yelled out, worry laced in his tone though.

"Are you alright?" Ryohei asked, as we all circled around him. Ari and I volunteered to bring him to the hospital, and I told everybody else to go home.

"No," Tsuna said, his voice firm, "We are going with you," I shrugged, and Ari picked up Lambo. When we reached the hospital we just told the doctor that Lambo got hit by lightening, which wasn't entirely a lie.

Lambo was immediately taken in, and we were all sitting in the waiting room. Well, Ari and I were sitting, but everyone else was pacing around nervously.

"Guys, calm down, your pacing is freaking me out," Ari deadpanned, while she was curled up on an armchair.

"Lambo will be fine you guys, trust me," I assured them.

Suddenly Nana walked in carrying a cake with the candles lit. Everybody started singing happy birthday and I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. I was seriously surprised.

"You guys," I protested, "Is this even the right time to be doing this?" Nana just looked at me and smiled.

"With everything that's happened, I think this is a good way to get our minds off things." She said.

"Make a wish and blow out the candles," Everybody urged. I took a deep breath and wished that Lambo would be okay. In one breath I blew out the candles, and knew that my wish would come true. We had just finished slicing the cake, and everybody was enjoying the cake to the best of their ability. We still were in a hospital and awaiting the news on Lambo's condition. Then the doctor came out, and everybody turned their attention on him.

"It seems like the child will be fine. He is not in critical condition anymore. He still hasn't woken up, and is now in a coma though. I don't know when he will wake up, so right now he is in the ICU. You can visit him in a few minutes."

Everybody seemed to visibly relax, and I slumped back down into my armchair. Everybody seemed to calmed down, and now the fatigue was catching up with them. Yam sunk down into a chair, and looked like he was trying his best to keep his eyes open. Ryohei looked like he would fall asleep standing up. I looked around at everybody cramped in a small waiting room in the hospital. I could say that this was the most interesting birthday I have ever had. Right then it hit me; I didn't need to have a big party with tons of people, right now, in this waiting room, I felt closer and happier than any party would make me. (Although it did take Lambo almost dying to make me realize this.)

"My birthday wish came true."

A/N: Sorry, sorry, that took waaaaayy too long to write. Anyway today is my actual birthday and I'm soooo old….LOL Next chapter will probably be Ari's ring battle so look forward to it. It would make me happy if you guys reviewed, it is my birthday after all. Lol thank you to everybody who read it!


	22. Moon Ring Battle

Target 21: Moon Ring Battle (Ari POV)

Before I knew it, it was the end of the Mist battle. Gokudera lost his battle, but managed to escape with his life, and Yamamoto won his battle. The Mist battle was a really confusing fight, with them mainly just jumping around, and yelling, a lot of yelling. Then the girl was on the floor; her stomach caving in, and I thought she would die. Then she stood up again, and she seemed perfectly fine. I heard Tsuna's shriek.

"Eh? What is Mukuro doing here?"

"Mukuro?" I asked, "I thought her name was Chrome."

"That's Rokudo Mukuro!" Gokudera said, "There's no doubt about it." I just looked at the battle and squinted real hard.

"Nope, she still looks like a girl to me," I admitted. I continued looking at the girl, and we made eye contact. One of her eyes turned red, with a symbol in it.

"Oya. Looks like I found somebody interesting," She chuckled. I was taken aback, this didn't sound like the shy girl that was just there a moment ago. Suddenly everybody started shivering.

"It's cold," Basil said, while blocking imaginary wind with his arm.

"We're going to freeze to death!" Ryohei exclaimed, and I just looked at them confused. There was no blizzard, we were still standing in the gym, and it was pleasantly warm. I looked at Yuki, and she seemed fine too. Reborn and Colonello seemed totally fine too.

"Illusions don't work on us," Yuki piped up, and I looked at her.

"Illusions?" I asked.

"Yeah, illusions. They are fighting with illusion, but we can't see illusions. So basically they are just jumping around." Yuki replied.

"Why can't we see illusions?" I asked, while watching everyone shivering.

"I really don't know, all I know is that illusions don't work on us,"

Suddenly everyone was grabbing their heads and stomachs.

"Are you guys alright?" Yuki asked.

"Illusion poisoning," Reborn replied, while Colonello's falcon was keeping him airborne.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Gokudera replied, clutching his stomach. Tsuna then fell to the floor clutching his head.

"It feels like my head is going to split open," He cried.

The after a few more minutes of jumping around we heard everybody gasp, even from Varia too.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Mukuro just killed Mammon," Gokudera told me, and I looked at the gym. I could see Mammon fly out of the door.

"Uh, guys," Yuki piped up, "Mammon isn't dead,"

"Yeah," I agreed, "He just flew out the door…"

"The winner of the Mist battle is Chrome Dokuro," The Cervello announced, "The next battle will be the Moon battle." One of them turned to Xanxus, "Xanxus-sama, you have found a guardian right?" Xanxus grunted, and they took it as a yes.

'Wasn't I supposed to go last?' I thought.

Then Mukuro went on a spiel about how Xanxus had like a scheme planned, and how Tsuna was still naïve, also about how he wasn't a good person…?

Then Gokudera whipped out his dynamite, and Tsuna had to calm him down.

"Kufufufu, I don't intend on getting close to the mafia, I just became a guardian to get closer to taking over Tsuna's body." 'Mukuro' said cockily.

"Wow, ulterior motive much?" I snorted under my breath.

The he/she turned to look at me with an amused glint in her eyes. She roughly grabbed my chin and forced me to look into her eyes, but since she was shorter than me, I had to hunch down so we were at eye level.

"Hi?" I said hesitantly.

"Uh, Ari-chan, why are you bent like that?" Tsuna asked me, and I told him that she was shorter than me.

"Really? He looks taller than you…" Yamamoto said confused.

"Uhhh, guys, this is a girl," I said, trying to get it through to them that this was a gir.

"Oya oya, are you an illusionist?" She asked me, those heterochromatic eyes never breaking eye contact.

"Umm…no?" I replied, super uncomfortable with how close her face was to mine.

"Then why can't I get into your mind?" She asked, and I just wanted to get as far away as possible from her, but she had an iron grip on my chin. I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding as she shifted her attention to Yuki.

"Are you an illusionist?" 'Mukuro' asked Yuki and she just scoffed and crossed her arms.

"I already told you, illusions don't work on us," Yuki huffed, "You still look like a girl to me. A girl with fruit shaped hair." 'Mukuro tensed up, "If you call my hair a pineapple, I will end you." He/she threatened.

"Oh, I was going say dragon fruit…" Yuki deadpanned, keeping a straight face.

"Oh, I guess that's better than pineapple." Chrome said, nodding. She turned to face both of us.

"I find you two interesting, mainly the one over here with the purple eyes. I'll see you in your dreams."

"Well, that wasn't creepy at all," I retorted.

"I'm getting tired," She replied her eyes drooping, and her body falling forward. She ended up falling on me, and I had to wriggle out from underneath her. Yo-yo guy, and dog boy just left her there lying on the floor.

"Your battle is next," Yuki reminded me, and I nodded.

I guess it's my turn now.

* * *

I didn't sleep at all because I was so occupied on thinking about my battle. In fact, I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. I have been living off of caffeine, drinking cup after cup of tea, coffee, and energy drinks, anything with that life giving drug. I was also thinking strategically of how I am going to win this battle. Yuki's words just kept echoing in my mind,

'You have to win otherwise you will die. That ring is now connected to your life. Lose the ring, lose your life.'

Gee, what a nice way of putting it. Anyway, Yuki didn't really train me much, she just mainly shot at me, and we also did some hand to hand combat, but that was about it. She was just basically lying around reading her goddamn magazines from her iPad most of the time.

It was 4 in the morning, and I couldn't go back to sleep. So I crawled out of bed and headed downstairs wanting bread. I was shocked to see Maman in the kitchen already preparing food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. God bless her sweet soul. I walked in and headed to the fridge.

I heard the chopping sound stop, as I opened the fridge.

"Oh, Ari-chan, what are you doing here at this hour?" Maman asked, looking up from the cutting board. Once I managed to get two pieces of bread in the toaster, I simply replied that I couldn't sleep.

"What's wrong?" Maman asked, wiping her hands on her apron, and coming to sit next to me.

'Oh, I don't know, in exactly 17 hours and 35 minutes, I would have to fight with a hella strong opponent, and if I lose, I'll die. Oh yeah, did I mention the part where I might die?'

"I don't know maybe it was the caffeine," I said lamely, munching on my piece of toast.

"Now, what did I tell you about consuming caffeine and sweets at night? You can't fall asleep. No more caffeine for you," Maman scolded, in a light reprimanding tone.

"Yes, Maman, I know, but I couldn't resist the bubble tea that Yuki gave me. And I have a really big…test that I had to study for…" I face palmed at such a bad excuse, but it was true. I was kinda jittery after all the caffeine I had ingested over these past few days. Maman seemed to buy it though, and got up. After watching her prep ingredients for a little while, I hoped that I would feel just a tiny bit sleepy, so I could get at least an hour of rest. Sleep did not come to me.

"Maman I can help you of you want," I offered, since I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon.

"Really? That would be a big help." Maman replied, as I made my way over to her. "You can start by cutting up the fruit for the yogurt." I chopped up the strawberries, and washed the blueberries, and we made small talk. Before I knew it, the sun had come up, and Tsuna stumbled down the stairs as per usual.

"A-Ari-chan, what are you doing wearing an apron?" Tsuna asked me, as he sat down.

"Oh, she helped me cook today," Maman replied over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," I replied a bit sheepishly, and Tsuna seemed to understand why.

"It's ok, Ari-chan, you'll do fine," Tsuna assured me, "Now we have to get going if we don't want to be late!"

"Hey, that's what I'm supposed to say!" I teased as I walked up the stairs and into my room.

* _Sigh*_ This is going to be a long day.

* * *

School was finally over, and I immediately went back home to prepare myself. I made sure to have plenty of kunai and shuriken to throw, and I made sure I was wearing comfy clothes too. Somebody knocked on my door and I told the person to come in. It turns out it was Tsuna. I told him to sit down, and he perched himself on the edge of my bed, while I was pacing around, mindlessly twirling a kunai between my fingers. He looked a bit awkward so I decided to start the conversation.

"So…how you doin'?" (In a Joey Tribbiani voice from 'Friends,' minus the innuendo and the eyebrows.)

"Ano…are you okay?" Tsuna asked me.

"Oh, yeah, I'm totally fine, y'know? Just totally prepared for my death, and caffeine deprived," I joked, trying to make things light-hearted.

"Where did you learn how to fight?" He asked me suddenly, and I stopped twirling the kunai.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me…" Tsuna rushed, seeing as how I stopped pacing.

"Oh, it's fine. I learned how to fight from my private tutors. My parents were super protective so they made me take self-defense classes, and learn a whole bunch of things. Most of them were useless, but I guess they would come in handy…if you were a criminal. They taught me how to hack computers, hotwire cars, defuse bombs, and a lot of other shit like that." I laughed, remembering all the things I had just brought up. And then I continued, "It was my mother who taught me how to throw things. She said I had a knack for it. I had really good aim and whatnot, so I decided that my main weapon would be stuff that I can throw." I stopped again, and looked at Tsuna who was busy processing all this information. I took a deep breath, and weighed the pros and cons of telling him this next bit of information. Oh well, screw it.

"I…I was also in the mafia." I heard Tsuna gasp, and then immediately regretted telling him. I mean, it wouldn't hurt if he didn't know right? But it just had to slip out of my mouth, and there was no point in hiding it now.

"Yo-you were?" Tsuna asked incredulously and I nodded.

"Part of the Rizzuto Family to be exact. My Tou-san was the boss, and I was the next heiress. Now that I know you guys are the mafia, I don't think that coming here to Japan was a random thing. It was definitely planned."

"Excuse me for just a minute," Tsuna muttered, and he walked out of my room. But he came back a second later with Reborn.

"Reborn, explain," Tsuna demanded, and I cocked my head in confusion.

"You knew I was mafia?" I asked Reborn, and Reborn jumped on my bed and go comfy.

"Of course I did," He stated bluntly, "You being in Japan is not a coincidence. The relationship between the Vongola, and the Rizzuto Family go back farther than I care to go, but recently the ties began souring. Your father sent you here as a peace offering of sorts, to try and rebuild the alliance. You being here is a show of trust, more or less."

I nodded, trying to process this information. Oh, I was going to kill Tou-san when I get back. Subconsciously I started pacing again, and twirling my lucky kunai faster than before.

"Ari-chan, what are you doing?" Tsuna asked me.

"Oh, it's the caffeine; I haven't had any all day. Where can I get some?" I asked nervously, continuing twirling the kunai between my fingers as I mindlessly paced around.

"Ari-can, calm down," Tsuna reasoned, "It's not healthy for you to have this much caffeine, and not sleep."

"I'll be fine after a cup of coffee or two!" I snapped, now craving coffee, and Maman had banned me from caffeine.

"Tsuna would you be a darling and get me some coffee?" I asked sweetly, and Tsuna just face palmed.

"No, Dame-Tsuna, your job is to keep Ari away from caffeine okay?" Reborn said sipping his espresso that he got out of nowhere. The smell seemed to rejuvenate me, and I started walking over to Reborn.

"Reborn can I have just a sip, please? It will help me focus…" I begged, but Reborn, that jerk, gulped it all down.

"Oh, and also," Reborn chimed in, "I am Boreen-sensei."

*Cue my brain exploding because of the information overload, and lack of caffeine, and me passing out*

* * *

I woke up on my bed with a killer headache.

"Oh, sweet Jesus, it feels like there is a devil inside my head jabbing it with a pitchfork."

"I told you it would work," I heard somebody say, and I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes. When my eyes focused again, I could see Yuki, and she was sipping, _STARBUCKS!_

I immediately jumped out of bed, ignoring the sharp pain in my head, and I reached for the life giving essence. Yuki managed to side step, and I fell to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs.

I sat up, and knew that no matter how much begging I would do, I would get no coffee.

"Uhg, what happened?" I asked, clutching my head as a fresh wave of pain washed through me, and I was all clammy from cold sweats…and hot flashes…?

"You passed out, probably from exhaustion and the caffeine caused you to crash." Reborn told me.

"We revived you with coffee," Yuki chimed in, holding up her cup.

"This is literally the longest I have gone without caffeine, and I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Will someone get me some fucking coffee already?" I pleaded, desperate.

"Nope," Yuki replied, but she handed me something, "These are from Shamal, they should cure the symptoms you are experiencing now." I gladly took the pills she handed me and the glass of water. After I finished the glass and swallowed the pills, I immediately felt better.

"By the way Ari," Yuki announced, "Your battle is in a few minutes so get going,"

'Shit,' I thought, 'I'm screwed,'

* * *

The place where my battle was going to take place was Nami-Chuu's roof. Next to the roof they had set up and arena, and when I saw it my mind was immediately in overdrive.

'Holy shit. Why does my arena look so much more complicated than all the others?' I thought, taking in the massive black arena that seemed to be _floating._ Yes, _floating._ There were huge black platforms that looked kind of looked like…Tetris blocks? Dammit, I suck at Tetris. Oh yeah, did I mention they were suspended in air? Like the blocks were spaced apart, and if you jumped from block to block and missed; you would fall to your death.

"Guardians of the moon, please come to the center of the roof," The Cervello announced. I walked over to where they were standing, and looked for my opponent. Then I saw her. OMG. She looked like a freaking psychopath. All I could see was her bright, messily wavy magenta hair that was peeking out from her hood. She was wearing a long black clock, and when she walked, she seemed to float. Her hood was up, and that just made it even creepier, because I couldn't see her face; just her hair.

"Please show us your rings, so that we can verify that they are real," The Cervello said.

Soundlessly, she pulled a chain out, and she showed it to the Cervello. I held up my hand, and they verified that it was indeed real.

"Ari," Somebody whispered, and I tried to locate the sound of the voice, It was Yuki.

"Her name is Medusa," Yuki whispered, and I gave her a puzzled look.

"How is that supposed to be helpful? Tell me how to beat her." I hissed, and Yuki just stayed silent.

"Can you put your half ring on a chain around your neck?" One of the Cervello asked me. I snorted,

"If I could do that, this ring would've been off my finger a long time ago." And the Cervello let it go. But I looked at Medusa's half ring, and I cocked my head in confusion. Her half ring was silver, but my half ring was black. That was weird.

My thoughts were broken by a voice.

"Are you prepared to die, sweetie?" Medusa jeered from under her hood. Her voice was raspy and dry, so raspy that it sounded like it hurt to talk.

"Please enter the enclosure now," The Cervello instructed, and I stepped off the roof onto one of the many platforms. Medusa followed my suit. Looking at the arena, I just saw a bunch of differently shaped blocks, that all seemed to fit together like a puzzle piece; if there were not a gap of a few meters in between each one. I realized that to get from each platform to the next I would have to jump, and if I miss I would fall and die.

"Battle start!" The Cervello exclaimed, and suddenly it was pitch black.

'Oh my god,' I thought, 'They want us to fight this battle in pitch black. Oh, thank goodness for my photographic memory. I think the next block is just in front of me.' I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer and jumped, relief flooding through me when my feet came in contact with something solid.

But then, there was a stinging pain in my left shoulder, and I brought my right hand up to feel what happened. I gasped as I felt something…actually some things sticking out of my shoulder. I tentatively grabbed one, and winced as I pulled it out.

'Needles?' I thought as I ran my fingers over it, since I couldn't see it, 'This chick just stabbed me with a bunch of needles? The fuck?' But these weren't your ordinary sewing needles. These were long, at least 15 centimeters, and they were thicker the top, around a fifth of a centimeter. But it tapered at the end into a hella sharp point. Oh what's that sticky liquid on it? Right, that's just my blood, no biggie.

Just by feeling around I guessed there were at least a dozen needles stuck in my shoulder, and I found that it was beginning to get numb, and I couldn't move it anymore.

"You're lucky it's so dark," I heard her sneer, in that unpleasant raspy voice, "If I could see, you'd be dead by now!" Then I realized that her aim was a little off. If she had gone a little more right, than the needles would have probably pieced my heart and I would be dead. I was trying to remove all the needles, but this time I felt one come flying at me. I managed to move aside, but the needle still grazed my neck. My neck…and… my shoulder. Dear Jesus she was aiming at my pressure points. I guess she was trying to get me paralyzed, so she could take my ring. Well good luck with that.

I continued to jump from platform to platform, and my eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness. I could now make out the faint outlines of the platforms, but I still had no idea where Medusa was. I could faintly make out the sound of tow hard objects meeting and I deduced that Medusa had finally jumped to a new platform. I took out of my kunai and threw it in that general vicinity; to see if it would hit anything. Obviously I didn't hit her, but I did hear the sound of tearing fabric.

I was mentally celebrating in my head, until I felt the air currents change behind me.

"You are still too naïve. I see you never change…" I'm pretty sure she raised her arm to try and impale me with a needle, but I managed to dodge and jump to a new block.

'Shit, I wasn't good in hand to hand combat. She's too close for comfort. My weapons are mainly mid range, so I have to get away from her.' All these thoughts rushed through my mind as I heard air rushing. Shit. She was chasing me.

"I see you are still no good in hand to hand? You really didn't change at all, Matsuki Arisa." She jeered. Ugh, her voice was really giving me the chills; and not the good ones.

"Who the fuck are you?" I called out, still trying to increase the distance between us. She let out a sharp bark of laughter, and I heard her footsteps. She was catching up to me fast.

"So I see you have already forgotten me, my dear Ari-chan? I can't say I'm surprised."

Okay this girl was really getting on my nerves. She's acting so familiar with me; like we've met each other before. Obviously we haven't though…right?

I decided that running would be futile, and decided to try my luck at hand to hand. I stopped running, and tried to listen for her footsteps, but when she heard my footsteps stop, hers stopped too. It was eerily silent for a few moments, but I decided to break it by taking out one of my shuriken and throwing it. I heard it slicing through the air, but it never hit anything. It just fell down onto the courtyard below.

"My, my, is that all you have?" Suddenly Medusa was up in my face, and I could feel her pulling another needle out.

"I honestly thought you were going to be more fun," She admitted, as I felt another needle embed itself into my stomach. Great now I lost track of how many needles are in me. I still wasn't able to scratch her.

I held two kunai, one in each hand, and waited for her to attack. I was going over plans in my head. So obviously I couldn't just charge in, and try to steal the ring. My best bet would be surprising her and taking the ring from behind. Now I just have to surprise her.

Again, there was a moment of complete stillness, and I was worried that she would find me by my loud heartbeat. Then I heard a rustle of cloth and I sprang into action. I lunged forward and slashed wildly, hearing the sound of tearing fabric and hoping that I did some damage. I heard some more rustling, and then her raspy throaty voice rang out.

"Thank you for getting rid of that cloak, now I can move more freely," She snickered. Now she was the one who lunged forward, and I dodged, sidestepping. I raised my kunai up, but was stopped by her needles. I could feel like she was making an 'x' with the needles, and effectively trapping my kunai. But I had my other hand. With a flick of my wrist, I threw my other kunai and heard it sink into flesh.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Medusa approved, laughing like a crazy woman.

'Damn, this woman belongs in the loony-bin,' I thought, while jumping backwards and pulling out another kunai. I heard a clatter of metal hitting the floor, and guessed she must have taken my kunai out of wherever it hit her. My eyes were fully used to the darkness now, and I could make out her form. She still had a hood on hiding her face.

She was on the block in front of me, and in one fluid motion I jumped and crotched low, narrowly missing the barrage of needles sent my way. I stuck out one of my legs, and bent the other one, almost in a figure skating position. I turned my body and managed to knock her feet out from under her, and she fell on her stomach with a thud. I then proceeded to sit on her back, grabbing one of her arms, and twisting it so it was now in the middle of her shoulder blades.

"Hand over the ring, I don't want to hurt you," I declared, fully intent on ending this battle here and now. I was starting to feel a bit dizzy, and I had like a million needles sticking out of me.

(Now looking back, I realized that I should've just taken her half ring, so that this would've been over, but no, I had to keep on talking.)

"Just who are you?" I inquired, my curiosity taking over. There was something about her that was irking me, but I just couldn't place it.

"Curiosity killed the cat, my dear. I don't think you want to find out either."

"But satisfaction brought it back," I countered. It was really going to annoy me if I didn't figure out just who the hell this person was.

"Curiosity killed the cat," She repeated and I felt a needle sink into the middle of my right thigh. I'm pretty sure it hit a pressure point, cause it hurt like a bitch. I bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming. In those few seconds, Medusa had the upper hand. She smoothly rolled out from under me, and stepped on my thigh forcing the needle deeper. )And I'm pretty sure it went all the way through…) I let out of strangled gasp as I tried to ignore the throbbing pain. I gathered the rest of my power, and shoved Medusa off, scrambling to get away. I jumped to another block and when I put the tinniest bit of pressure on right leg, I let out a muffled cry and collapsed, feeling fresh blood ooze from the wound.

"You can run but you can't hide!" Medusa called out in a sing songy tone. I just wanted to curl up and die. I knew that the only way to get the ring off my finger was to cut it off, and I'm pretty sure Medusa would have no qualms about that. And, remembering what Yuki said, once the ring would leave my finger I would die; not like I'm not gonna die soon anyway. I was feeling nauseous and even more dizzy, and I forced down the urge to throw up. I think the needles were coated in something that was making me feel like this. As I jumped to another block I could hear light footsteps. And then I heard humming.

'OMG, Medusa was humming. She is one mad woman. But wait…that song sounded so familiar.' I thought. Then it hit me. Medusa was humming a French song as she was getting closer and closer to me. When she stopped in front of me, she grabbed my hair, and forced me to look up. I didn't know where I was looking 'cause I couldn't see her face, but I could _feel_ her eyes bore into mine.

She was still humming and when she hit a familiar part I couldn't help myself.

" _Alouette, gentille alouette,_ " I sang aloud, immediately regretting it. I felt Medusa tense up, and I couldn't let this opportunity slip through my fingers. Seeing as how she was somehow surprised, I pulled out one of my kunai that was strapped to my ankle and slipped it under the chain. Then I leaned backwards until I felt the chain snap. I was feeling the floor for the ring but Medusa seemed to have gotten over her surprise, because I felt a needle go all the way through my hand, and into the platform.

"Uh uh uh. I'm not letting you get away that easy after all the years I spent looking for you." She snarled.

My right hand was pinned down to the floor because of the needle, so I took a deep breath and pulled it out. When I got up, I kneeled on something hard. It was the ring! Medusa didn't seem to know I had the ring, but she was resolute on killing me, so she tackled me, and we went flying onto another platform.

"You are not getting away, not this time!" She hissed, as we were wrestling.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" I grunted, trying to get her off me. I just had to get the ring on my finger and then this would all be over.

As we were rolling around, (I was in so much pain because this caused the needles to dig even deeper into me) I managed to get a hold of one of my kunai. I closed my eyes and shoved it into the form above me. I heard a sickening squelch, and felt something warm and sticky ooze onto my stomach. That definitely was not my own blood. I took his chance to complete the ring.

"Alright, now we can sto-" I was interrupted midway when Medusa sent a hard kick to my stomach, and I was sent flying backward. (Onto another platform, thank god.)

"I have the ring stop-" Again I was interrupted and she tackled me again and was clawing at my face. She managed to land a few scratches; damn her nails were sharp, until I felt us falling. I felt Medusa let go of me when I managed to grab onto the edge of the platform. I reached out and grabbed her wrist, and felt the strain on my fingertips.

"Let go of me," She snarled, "You got the ring so I can die now. I'm going to get killed by the Varia anyway.

"NO," I replied. I don't know what possessed me at the moment, but we both knew that I couldn't support the both of us.

"Do you want to die too?" She hissed, her raspy voice getting huskier, "Let go of me! You won fair and square. I don't need your pity." I felt her wriggling, fully intent on getting out of my grasp, but I was resolute on saving us both.

With the minimal strength I had in my left arm, I managed to bring it up, so now both hand were grasping the edge of the platform. Medusa got up first, and my muscles were so weak I couldn't do a pull up. I expected her to help me up, but I heard her snicker.

"You are still so naïve. Saving your enemy, you should never do that."

She then tried to take the ring off my finger. Big mistake. Using that momentum, I pulled myself up, and the force sent Medusa flying, so now I was sitting on her with a kunai pointed at her throat.

The point of my kunai broke the skin, and I watched as a thin trail of blood flowed from the tip.

"Kill me," She urged, "Kill me and end my miserable life."

"No thanks" I replied sarcastically, and then my poor eyes were assaulted with blinding lights.

"The winner of this battle is Matsuki Arisa!" The Cervello announced, and I got off of Medusa. I was walking away, but I stopped when I heard her voice.

"Why?" She asked, her voice shaking, "Why did you save me now but you didn't save me before? Why?" I turned around and looked at her confused, but I didn't have time to think about it when I stumbled. I expected to meet the ground, but I never did.

"Geez Ari, you look like a human pincushion," A sarcastic voice said. I looked up and met purple eyes.

"See my training paid off right? I totally knew you would win. It was a matter of self-discovery." Yuki arrogantly said.

"Self-discovery my ass, you were too lazy to actually train me," I snorted, but gasped when I felt somebody pull a needle out of me.

I turned my head and saw Shamal studying the needle.

"Shamal, why are you here?" Tsuna asked.

"How can I resist treating a patient as beautiful as her?" Shamal cooed, and I would've kicked him if I could. But I was feeling weaker and weaker, and my vision was doubling. If Yuki wasn't supporting me, I don't think I would be standing. Suddenly his eyes grew serious.

"These needles were coated in venom," Shamal announced, and it finally clicked in my head.

"Specifically venom from a Blue Krait Snake," Yuki piped up, letting go of me, and walking over to Shamal. I managed to stay standing, but the world was swaying right now.

"Can you cure her?" Yamamoto asked. I would've seen the worry in his eyes, if I wasn't completely focused on trying to stay standing.

"We have the antivenin, and we need to treat her now." Shamal responded.

"Did I mention you also look like a cactus?" Yuki asked, but I was seeing black spots dancing in my vision.

"Are you okay, to the extreme?" Ryohei, I think, asked, "You have, like, a million needles sticking out of you."

"Is that so?" I replied, giving into the darkness as I felt myself falling forward.

A/N: WHOOOO! Ari's ring battle done! And I looked up snake venom to decided which one I should use and let's just say…don't get bitten by a snake…it's ugly, and expensive to cure. And even if you get the antivenin, it's not guaranteed that you'll live. Sorry this took so long to update, I had to find the right words for everything, (Plus writing that sucky fight scene ;P) And this is officially my longest chapter yet, it's over 5k! YAY! Thank you to everyone who reads this story, and I will soon be in Hawaii for two weeks, so I will try and update during that time. Anyway, I love you! Read and Review? ~Until next time.


	23. Cloud Battle

Target 22: Cloud Battle (Yuki POV)

The Cloud battle was next, but no one really paid attention, because Ari passed out, and would've kissed the floor if… well, she face planted into the floor. Shamal told us that if the antivenin didn't work, then she would have to be transported to the hospital.

* * *

Well, Ari almost died. And when I mean almost; her heart stopped a few times. The snake venom seemed to do a number to her, and she wasn't guaranteed survival although she was administered the antivenin. Shamal couldn't fully heal her, but he did inject two vials of Blue Krait antivenin into her via his trident mosquitoes.

But after that Ari started having spasms, and it looked like she was having a seizure.

"I only prepared two vials of antivenin, but she is going to need a lot more due to how much venom got into her," Shamal confessed. We managed to yank all the needles out of her while Tsuna called 911. It would be bad if the ambulance came and Ari still had needles stuck in her.

After I pulled the last one of her thigh, we heard sirens. She was immediately strapped to a gurney, and Shamal jumped in the ambulance with Ari; to inform the other medics what had happened.

* * *

 **(At the hospital)**

"She got bitten by a snake…multiple times…" Shamal half lied.

"Do you know what kind of snake it was?" One of the nurses asked.

"It was a Blue Krait," I chimed in, and the nurse looked at me confused.

"We don't have Blue Kraits in Japan. Are you sure it was one?"

"I'm positive, now hurry up and treat her if you don't want her to die from hypoxia." I commanded.

She stiffly nodded, and scurried away, and I collapsed onto one of the armchairs. This was the exact same waiting room that we were in, just a few days ago. Lambo was still in a coma, but he showed no sign of getting worse….or getting better. Yam was still pacing around, and Ryohei was fidgeting in his chair. Tsuna just looked downright depressed. He buried his head in his hands, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Knowing Tsuna, he was probably blaming this all on himself. He already blamed himself for what happened to Lambo, but now Ari got gravely injured, and he was so close to losing it.

"Tsuna, it's not your fault, stop blaming yourself." I deadpanned, and he looked up.

"How am I going to explain this to Mama?" He wailed, "Lambo got hurt, and now Ari-chan, and they all got hurt because of me!"

He gasped, his eyes widening to saucers, "What if one of them died? What if one of them died and it's all my fault? I don't think I could live with myself." He buried his head in his hands again and stayed like that.

"Tsuna look at me," And he wearily raised his head, "Ari is going to be fine. You just have to trust me on this."

"Yeah, ok," He replied dejectedly, and I sighed. Suddenly the door burst open. Nana came in with Haru and Kyoko on her heels.

"Reborn told me what happened," Nana said, worry in her eyes. I cringed hoping that Reborn could come up with a plausible excuse.

"Yeah!" Haru cried, "You guys were at the zoo, and then a venomous snake got loose and attacked Ari-chan~desu?"

"Uhh…yeah…that's totally what happened," I replied, breathing a sigh of relief, and mentally thanking Reborn.

"The snake was really venomous, so now they are trying to get more vials of antivenin to cure her." I added.

"How could that happen?" Kyoko asked, immediately heading over to Ryohei and hugging him.

"We don't really know," Ryohei replied, and I was glad he wasn't saying that Ari got hurt because of a sumo contest.

"Right now we are just hoping she pulls through," Tsuna replied, and Nana walked over, and gave Tsuna a big hug. It looked like he needed one too.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It read 1:13 AM. Whoa it got really late fast. Everyone must be exhausted.

"You guys go home," I reasoned, looking at everyone's half asleep state.

"We have school tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure Ari will be ok. We can always visit her tomorrow."

Right then a nurse came in and gave us a rundown of Ari's current condition.

"She is in stable but critical condition right now. The poison paralyzed her lower body, and right now she is being airlifted to a hospital in Thailand where there is a specialist, who is experienced in dealing with snake bites. She will continue to observe Arisa, and when she deems her healthy enough, Arisa should be flown back here for more observation. Her survival is not guaranteed, but we are trying our best."

"She's in Thailand right now?" Tsuna cried.

"On her way," The nurse corrected, "I would assume you are her legal guardian?" The nurse turned to Nana.

"Yes, I am," Nana replied. The nurse handed her a stack of paper work.

"Can you please sign all these, and send them back here as soon as possible?" With that she left, and we all turned to look at Nana.

"You guys go home," Nana said, "I'll just stay to sign these." Even with our persistent offers of help, Nana denied all of them, and booted us out of the waiting room.

"Hibari-san's match is tomorrow," Tsuna said lightly, trying to make conversation. We were all staying at Tsuna's house for the night, in the room Ari occupied. I was currently sprawled on her hella uncomfortable bed, while Tsuna was sitting on the floor with Gokudera next to him. Yam was currently occupying the armchair that was in the corner. Ryohei unfortunately could not join us in this family bonding time because he had to bring Kyoko home.

"Don't worry about Hibari," I assured him, "He will do just fine. Now let's get some sleep. We do still have to go to school tomorrow."

*Cue groans from everyone sitting in the room*

* * *

I sat up groggily, and felt a dull pain shoot up my back. I somehow managed to wind up on the floor, and my body was so sore. I looked around the room, and found that Tsuna was missing. He must have gone back to his room during the night. Yam was still sleeping on the armchair, and that probably was not comfortable at all. I looked on the bed, and saw a familiar mop of silver hair.

"What the fuck, Gokudera?!" I screamed. He stirred from his position, but made no move to answer me. I dragged the covers off of him. That seemed to work, as he sat up, obviously annoyed.

"Dammit woman, what the hell was that for?"

"You kicked me off the bed, you bastard. I was sleeping there first!"

"Yeah, 'cause there's no way in hell I'd share a bed with your space hogging ass. You were rolling around like crazy, and I didn't have to do anything; you rolled off the bed by yourself. So if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back to sleep. Goodnight." He pulled the covers back over his head and laid down.

Since it was obvious he was trying to ignore me, I grabbed his ankles and unceremoniously dragged him off the bed.

"Get up! We have to go to school!" My yelling seemed to wake Yam up, and he got up from the armchair and stretched.

"What are you doing screaming so early in the morning?" Yamamoto laughed, taking in how Gokudera was a tangled heap of blankets and limbs on the floor.

"I had to wake his sorry ass up, and it obviously had to involve yelling," I scoffed, looking over at Gokudera. He returned my glare. I broke eye contact, crossed my arms, and sighed,

"Get ready you two, I'll go and wake up Tsuna, if Reborn didn't get to him already." I got up and walked over to Tsuna's room, carefully opening the door. With a quick look around from my spot at the doorway, Tsuna was still asleep and Reborn was nowhere to be found.

I looked at Tsuna, and immediately my hatred for Gokudera flared up again. I envied Tsuna; how he was sleeping on that _soft, fluffy, bed,_ when I had to sleep on the cold, hard, ground. I will get my revenge later. But now, I had to find a way to wake up Tsuna.

I walked over, and decided just to shake him awake like a normal person.

"Get ready. We leave for school in ten minutes," With that I left his room and walked downstairs. Instead of seeing the normal sight of Nana happily cooking, she was staring at a piece of paper, sullenly sipping a cup of coffee.

"Nana, what's wrong?" I asked, looking at the piece of paper. I was looking at Ari's medical bill. After listing all the services, I looked at the very bottom of the page. Holy shit. Ari's total medical bill was a whopping 163 thousand dollars. (US dollars to be exact. In yen it would amount to roughly, 16,300,000 Japanese yen)

"Nana, you don't have to pay for this do you?" I asked her.

"No," Nana replied, "Ari-chan's parents were notified, and they said they would take care of all the cost."

"Why do you look so worried then?" I inquired.

"She was under my care; I feel like I have some responsibility."

"Nana, it's ok. Ari is fine, and going to get better." I reassured her.

"But I also feel guilty as well…" Nana admitted.

"Don't be," I tried to convince her, "It's not your fault."

"Ok," Nana flashed me a wry smile and got up, "Would you like to stay for breakfast, Yuki-chan?"

* * *

It was now time for Hibari's battle. He took down Gola Mosca in two swings, and won the battle.

"It seems like I lost," Xanxus stated, a cocky smirk on his lips.

"You don't look like it," Hibari replied, while charging at him with his tonfas. Xanxus skillfully avoided each attack, and then, before anything else could happen, the Gola Mosca started acting all weird.

"It seems that the Gola Mosca lost control, even I can't do anything," Xanxus said smugly. Everyone was trying to dodge the missiles and attacks the Gola Mosca was randomly shooting. Tsuna had to go into Hyper Dying Will Mode, and he successfully stopped the Gola Mosca from harming anyone, on both sides.

But the Gola Mosca opened up, and out rolled the Ninth.

'Wow, I totally forgot that would happen,' I remember thinking as everyone started freaking out, and Xanxus was looking smug as ever.

"You were the one who did this to the Ninth. Who would mercilessly beat up an old man?" Xanxus accused, fully intent on guilt tripping Tsuna, which seemed to be working.

Then Xanxus tried to blame Tsuna for it, and I shook my head wondering how he ever thought this plan would work.

With all the confusing shit that just happened, the Cervello announced that they would hold the Sky Battle match, but it would be a little different. Everybody's ring would be on the line, and whoever got the Sky ring, all the rings would go to that side.

"Please gather all the guardians for tomorrow's match," The Cervello informed everybody before jumping away.

"HHIEEEEE," Tsuna shrieked, "Lambo is in the hospital in a coma, and Ari-chan is also in a hospital…in Thailand."

"Relax Tsuna," I said smirking, "Everything will work out; Ari will get here some way or another."

*Cue me cackling evilly and everybody staring at me like I'm crazy*)

* * *

Welp, I'm currently sitting on a plane headed for Thailand with a mission to kidnap Ari. Yup, you read that correctly. _Kidnap_ Matsuki Arisa from the Best Heart Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

The flight wasn't that long, it was only like 6 hours, and I was quite comfortable, seeing as I was in first class courtesy of Reborn. (Once again, after the whole Ninth fiasco calmed down, and the Ninth's health was restored, he brought me aside, but Leon didn't turn into a gun.)

* * *

 _Flashback:_

" _Oh, I see you didn't just jump straight to pointing a gun at my head," I acknowledged, smiling. The corners of his lips turned up, and he smirked._

" _Say it like that, and I'm thinking you want me to point a gun at you," Reborn replied, amused. But then his eyes grew serious, and I knew what was coming up._

" _Did you know the Ninth was in the Gola Mosca?" He asked, his eyes fixed on mine._

" _I honestly forgot," I confessed sighing, "If I did know though, this situation wouldn't change a bit."_

" _You wouldn't tell us, if you knew the Ninth was in the Gola Mosca?" Reborn asked, totally not believing me._

" _Trust me Reborn, I did totally forget about that, so stop trying to make it sound like I purposely didn't tell you guys." I scoffed._

" _How can you just forget that the Ninth, the current leader of the Vongola and my boss almost died?" He pressed, "If I had a vision or a dream of that, I certainly wouldn't forget it."_

" _Reborn, I don't get my info like that," I admitted, and he cocked an eyebrow, "Most of the info I have to remember, and recently my memory has been failing me."_

 _After a few moments of awkward silence, Reborn finally broke it._

" _Well, I have a mission for you."_

" _A mission for me?" I asked incredulously._

" _Go get Matsuki Arisa, and bring her home. We need her for the Sky Battle."_

 _I shot Reborn a crooked grin, "It would be my pleasure."_

* * *

Getting off the plane, I found it super hard to breathe. I had to stop and take a few breaths, for my body to try and get used to this humid and thick air. (Sure, Japan's air was super humid and heavy, but Thailand's was even more humid.)

Rolling my little carry on after me (It was just filled with some snacks, some of my weapons, and other random shit.) I walked until I met a guy in a suit carrying a piece of paper that had _Kawahira Yuki,_ on it, printed in English.

"Are you Miss Kawahira Yuki?" He asked in English

"Yes," I responded back also in English, "I take it Reborn sent you?"

He briskly nodded, and took my luggage from my hand. We walked in silence to the entrance, where there was a sleek black Rolls Royce waiting for me.

'Reborn really outdid himself here,' I mused to myself, as the door was held open and I gingerly stepped in.

"Best Heart Hospital, am I right?" The driver asked, looking at me through the rear view mirror for confirmation. I nodded, and we continued to drive for a few more minutes.

"We are here," He announced shortly, and I looked out the window. The hospital looked like a regular hospital, and it was bustling with activity.

"I will be back here at exactly 3:00 to pick you and your guest up. She is staying in the ICU ward in room number 305." He handed me a syringe filled with weird looking fluid, and told me that if would help Ari. I figured it was a stimulant of some kind. I put on sunglasses and stepped out of the car.

It didn't take me long to find Ari's room, and when I did I was surprised. She looked like crap. She was pale, with tons of tubes sticking out of her, and her breathing was labored. I looked at the syringe.

'Well, I hope this helps her…but wait…where do I inject her?' I thought, as I looked her over, trying to find somewhere, 'I could inject it into her IV, but that would take too long, ummm…in epi pens, you usually stab it into the thigh right? Screw it, let's epi pen this shit.' I took a deep breath, and then stabbed the needle into her thigh. I then injected the fluid, and waited for any signs of change.

I minute later: Nothing happened.

5 minutes later: Still nothing happened.

10 minutes later: "Come on Ari work with me!" I screamed shaking her shoulders.

15 minutes later: I heard a groan and Ari stirred from her eternal sleep.

"Finally you're awake," I grumbled, and Ari looked at me with confused hazy eyes.

"I must be dreaming right? There's no way that you can be here right now." Ari muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Believe it sweetie. You can't get rid of me that easily," I smirked, and then threw her clothes.

"Get ready, we leave for the airport in about an hour."

Ari looked at the clothes, and then back at me. She started mumbling to herself, as she put on the clothes I prepared.

"Ah, Yuki?" She said, "I can't move my legs."

"Oh right, I think the nurse mentioned something about your lower half being paralyzed…" I informed her, and he eyes bulged.

"Calm down, I don't think it's permanent," I assured her, "But we do need to get you out of here."

"Uh, where are we going?" Ari inquired.

"Back to Japan of course. You got all your stuff?" Ari nodded, and I gathered all my stuff too. It was 2:54. The guy would be here any moment to pick us up.

"Oh, I'm forgetting something," I said, "We need your IV, of course."

 **OMAKE!**

After the ambulance whisked Ari away to the hospital, a big black car pulled up.

"At least I didn't have to use my last resort," I sighed, under my breath.

"Yuki, I got the hearse you ordered," Shamal said, rolling the window down and poking his head through it.

"The lease hasn't run out yet,so we get to keep this baby for about a few more hours."

"That was your last resort!?" Tsuna shrieked.

"Yeah, I paid for it, and since Ari doesn't need it...Any of y'all wanna ride in the hearse? It's almost like a mini limo."

A/N: GUYS I AM SO SO SORRY. That took me waaaaayyyy too long to write, and yah…. Anyway I haven't been able to find time here in Hawaii to type since my dad booked a really busy trip. But forgive me if this chapter is a bit lacking; it's more of a set up chapter. Anyway I'm super excited for the next chapter, so look forward to it! I love all you guys so much. And thanks to Tsukiyomi Hio, who PMed me, and inspired me to work on this chapter. LOL


	24. Sky Battle: Part 1

Target 23: Sky Battle Pt. 1 (Ari POV)

"What the hell happened?" I asked, when my mind decided to work with me, and I could actually get my mouth to say what my brain wanted to say.

"We are leaving to the airport in like 45 minutes, so hurry up and get all your stuff together," Yuki advised, putting some stuff into her purse.

"Airport?" I asked confused, "Why do we need to go to an airport?"

"Because we are in Thailand, you idiot," Yuki snorted, "You had to go and get your ass beat up by Medusa. Her needles were coated in highly venomous snake poison, and you almost died."

It took a while for my sluggish brain to process all of that, but when I finally did, I gathered all my stuff reluctantly. Well… _tried_ to.

"Ah, Yuki?" I called out in panic, "I can't move my legs,"

"Oh right, I think the nurse mentioned something about your lower half being paralyzed…" Yuki murmured, and I could feel my eyes bulge at this new info.

"It's not permanent, don't sweat it," Yuki said dismissively.

"Now let's go!"

As if on cue, the door opened, and a man in a suit rolled in a wheelchair. He walked over, picked me up and plopped me into it. A few minutes later, we were in a car headed to the airport.

"Why did you come and get me?" I asked Yuki, curious as to what her motives were.

"Well, your presence is required back in Japan," Yuki replied. I said nothing, thinking that she would say more, but she didn't. The plane ride was pretty silent too, and when we touched back down in Namimori; there was a car that immediately drove us back to Nami-Chuu.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, hoping to get an answer that made sense out of Yuki.

"I told you, you are required to fight in the Sky Battle for your ring," Yuki huffed pointedly.

"I have to fight again?" I exclaimed. I already won my ring fair and square and now I had to fight for it again?

Yuki got out of the car first, and made sure my IV didn't get tangled. (I was still required to have an IV because it was administering some medicine and saline solution intravenously.) The feeling came back in my legs a little bit, but it was still hard getting out of the car. I had to use the pole that my IV was hanging from as a sort of cane.

I grabbed onto it, and we slowly made our way to where the battle was taking place. (Slowly, because I was hobbling, using my IV as a cane, thank god it had wheels, and Yuki was matching my pace, to make sure I didn't like fall or anything.)

"I told you I would get her wouldn't I?" Yuki proudly announced. Heads whipped around, and I heard Tsuna audibly gasp.

"Ari-chan, what are you doing here? I thought you were at a hospital in Thailand?"

"So did I, so did I…" I muttered under my breath, but then grinned at the rest of the gang.

"Um, Arisa-dono, wouldst thou prefer to sit or…?" Basil asked, staring at my crazy shaking legs and how I was clinging onto my IV pole for dear life. I sighed.

"This is my first time standing in a week-"

"A week and a half`" Yuki corrected.

"A week and a half!" I huffed. "But right now I'm here, so let's get to it."

"We have taken the rings into custody," The Cervello broke in, showing the boxes in which the rings were. "All thing rings, except yours," The Cervello looked at me, and one of them stuck her hand out, palm waiting.

I looked at her in disbelief. "Lady, if I could take off this ring, I would have,"

The Cervello just continued to look at me expectantly, waiting. Then Yuki came to the rescue. She whispered in one of the Cervello's ears, and then that one turned to the other one and whispered in her ear. Yuki turned and gave me a wink, before disappearing to god knows where.

"Let us explain the rules of the Sky match," The Cervello continued. "One of the conditions is the same as the other guardians': completion of the ring. The field this time is the entire school. We have set up some cameras to view the entire arena, as well as large screens, other than the ones in the observation room."

"We have also prepared camera equipped wristbands," The other Cervello announced. With that, they handed out watch looking devices to all the guardians.

"Woah, it's like a miniature TV!" Ryohei exclaimed.

"I see, it's a super close up of Tsuna's face," Yamamoto laughed. I looked down at my wrist and indeed saw a super close close-up of Tsuna's face.

"Now, will each guardian move to your field?" The Cervello asked.

"Fields? What are you talking about?" The guy with the pedo moustache on Varia's side asked.

"We will not answer any questions," The Cervello stated, "Obey these rules, otherwise you will be disqualified."

"Seems like we won't just be watching," The crazy prince snickered.

* * *

My field was a legit field. It was just a large expanse of grass. That the students used for sports. Medusa also walked over next to me too. There was this huge _thing_ in the middle of it. There were four poles stuck into the grass, and they were pretty tall too. On top of that was a flat sheet of metal. It looked like something was to be placed there. It basically looked like a really elongated table.

"I see you healed well," She clucked, "Such a shame, I really thought you were going to die. Well, you totally aren't a dead person walking right now." Oh, I could just feel her smirking through her hood.

"Well here I am, so I didn't die…obviously," I mentally face palmed at such a lame comeback; I should've come up with something better.

"What's with this pole?" I asked, changing the topic.

Medusa just stayed silent, and I took that as an, 'I don't know.'

"At the top of each pole at the separate fields, are the rings pertaining to the pair," The Cervello announced.

"Ring?" I heard Gokudera ask, "You want us to fight over them again?"

"Ushishishishi. Looks like the prince gets to fight too," The prince cackled.

"Please do as you wish," The Cervello informed, "That is, if you can,"

Suddenly my wristband turned red, and so did Medusa's. I felt a sharp stinging pain, as if I was being injected by a needle.

"What is that?" I faintly heard Tsuna say over the speaker.

"It's the poison built into the wristbands has been injected into the guardians," They explained.

I fell to the ground in pain, and registered that Medusa followed suit. It felt like the insides were burning, and it also felt like I was thrown into a hot oven, and being cooked alive. Let's just say it was very uncomfortable.

"The poison is called, 'Death Heater,' and in thirty minutes they will die. There is only one way to stop the progression of the poison. Insert the corresponding ring into the corresponding guardian's wristband; if you insert the ring, than the antidote will be administered. The final condition to win, is completing the Sky ring, and obtaining all the rings, and saving your guardian's lives of course. But in the case of your Moon guardian, since she cannot take off her ring, her dose of poison has been doubled. She will die in 15 minutes."

Pretty sure I heard Tsuna shrieking, but I didn't catch whatever else they said, as I was kinda distracted, cause ya know…I was gonna die…in like 15 minutes. I could hear Medusa scuffling, and I cursed. At least she could kind of move. I was just laying on my back paralyzed in pain. It was totally worse, than when I was poisoned by Medusa. Poisoned twice in a span of two weeks…I must have some type of messed up luck.

The Cervello told me to just insert my ring into the wristband. Uhg, easier said than done. I could barely move a finger, much less my entire right arm.

"Che, you have the ring right there, but you are too weak to use it," I heard Medusa scoff. I was in so much pain; I didn't even have the energy to talk back.

"All these years, you have not changed a bit. You have always been this pathetic,"

"Listen lady, I have no idea who the hell you are, but what gives you the right to talk about me like that?" Even that sentence drained me of my energy, and I had to take a few deep breaths. That was it. I had to try and get the ring into the wristband. A few tries, and I was on the brink of passing out.

Medusa cackled weakly, "Your time is almost up. Your pitiful life is going to end in a few minutes," I closed my eyes, finally coming to terms that I was going to die.

"If you died on school grounds, it would disturb the peace. If you are going to die, go die outside," A deep voice informed me. I cracked one eye open, and saw my hands being lifted by a dude in a Namimori uniform, with an armband that said disciplinary committee. I racked my brain, and tried to remember who he was. He inserted my ring into my wristband, and I instantly felt a cooling wave of relief flood over me.

"Oh, thank you Hibari-san," I called, while he was walking away.

"The school grounds have not been completely clean yet," He stated, and with that he walked away. I stayed on the ground for a few more moments to try and adjust my breathing and heart rate back to normal. I then got up and walked over to Medusa.

"Now, who the hell are you, and how the hell do you know me?" I asked.

"We used to be best friends, Ari-chan," She sneered, "Don't tell me you have forgotten?" I braced myself and pulled off her hood. I was met by a shock of crayon red hair, even though her hair was magenta. I forced my eyes down, and sharp almost feline like emerald green eyes met mine.

"It really has been a while Ari-chan."

* * *

'No, no, no, no,' I thought. My mouth popped open in a surprised, 'o' and I was rendered speechless. I looked at her once over again, and made sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. The only person I knew with crayon red/Ariel color hair, and emerald green eyes was dead…or so I thought. Because here she was standing in front of me, still alive and kicking. _Rikka Arquette._

"Shocked?" I faintly heard her ask. I didn't even have time to comprehend what was happening, before she grabbed my right wrist, and inserted my ring into her wristband. I heard a hissing sound, and the next second she was up on her feet stretching.

"Well, that almost got me," She sighed, and I eyed her wearily.

"How the fuck are you alive?" I said, once I finally got my mouth to work.

She laughed, although it had a bitter tinge to it, "I made myself strong and survived."

* * *

 _ **Flashback:**_

 _It was late one evening, and an eight-year-old Ari was laying down on a large fluffy bed._

" _Ne, ne, Rikka-chan, do you want to do something fun?"_

" _What?" Rikka asked, while plopping down on her bed next to Ari._

" _Wanna sneak out?" She asked, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, then her voice dropped to a whisper, "You are always surrounded by body guards, and we can't do anything fun with them watching us. Come on, please?"_

" _My mom says that being away from the body guards is playing with fire," Rikka informed Ari._

" _What does that even mean?" Ari asked, exasperated, "Come one, stop making excuses,"_

 _Rikka was the daughter of a CEO. She was also the heiress of his company, since she was an only child. She always had two bodyguards on her 24/7, and Ari was getting frustrated with it. When she asked Rikka about it, Rikka just said you had to get used to it, and when you did, it's like they aren't even there._

 _That night, Ari finally convinced Rikka to sneak away from her body guards, so they could have some fun, without the careful watch of middle aged men in suits._

" _Doesn't it feel so good to have no one watching you?" Ari laughed, as she skipped down the street. Ari could sense Rikka's apprehension, so she tried her best, to make Rikka as comfortable as possible. It was only supposed to be a simple night walk; they would be back, before the guards would even realize they were missing. Little did they know that their plan would not work out the way they had expected it too._

 _Suddenly a mob of men surrounded them, and one of them eyes Rikka._

" _Hey Boss, isn't that the daughter of the CEO of Arquette Industries?"_

" _Yeah, yeah, I think I saw her in the newspaper," Another one piped in._

" _Well then, if we kidnap her, she'll fetch a fine ransom don't c'ha think?" The boss asked his subordinates. They all murmured approval._

" _What do we do with the other girl?" One asked, grabbing Ari's chin, and forcing her to look at him. She could smell alcohol on his breath._

" _Whatever you want," The boss replied, and the rest of the men chuckled wickedly._

 _Rikka kicked the shin of the man holding Ari and she screamed for her to run. Ari listened to Rikka, and she managed to break away from the group of men, and ran. Only when she was a safe distance away, she gathered the courage to look back. Big mistake. She saw Rikka's body on the ground with a knife stuck in her throat; her blood pooling out in a steady stream. Ari turned around and kept running, never looking back again._

* * *

"Wha-wha…so you survived back then?"

"Yes I did," She spat out venomously, "I risked my life for you, and you did nothing."

"You don't know how much therapy I was forced to do! I went through shrink after shrink, and my parents were convinced that I was depressed, and had PTSD or something. Hell, my parents even threw me in the looney bin for a bit. I'm pretty sure I still have PTSD!"

"Oh, your life was _so_ bad wasn't it?" Medusa sneered sarcastically, "At least you got to see your family again, and you weren't treated like a slave. I made sure that you got away; what I didn't know is how selfish you were; only thinking of yourself,"

"You told me to run!" I snapped. "Ok, ok, ok, I was eight, I was terrified, it was dark, and I have night blindness! Even if I did stay, what could I do?! Do I regret it? Of course. Do I wish it was me instead of you? All the time. But what did you expect me to do back then? I told everyone about what happened the second I got back, but once I got to the part where… you know, when that happened, your parents decided against sending a rescue party for you, since, well, you know, you were kinda thought to be DEAD, and since I couldn't ID the people responsible, well… they just kinda went on a quest for revenge against people who kind of matched the description. And for the record, you're my best friend, so of course you should know what a shitty excuse for a human being I am, so that was kind of your fault." After my whole entire rant, I found myself panting, and I stopped talking, so air could come into my lungs.

I heard sniffling noises and turned to look at Rikka. At first glance it looked like she was crying, but she was actually laughing. I was seriously confused.

"Good to know what you've been feeling all this time," She said, once she had calmed down from her fit of laughter. "So now, you will know how I have been feeling," She brought her needles out, and I had a strange feeling of déjà vu. I ran without looking back over my shoulder once.

A/N: I did change the title and the summary of this story, so if you are confused, sorry for that. Whooo! Chapter done. I just got back from Hawaii, and school is starting soon, so sorry for the late. I will be aiming for weekly updates, so yeah. Thank you to everybody who reads my story. Love you! Until next time~


	25. Sky Battle: Part 2

Target 24: Sky Battle: Part 2 (Yuki POV)

After getting Ari and the whole crew together, the Sky battle started. They were injected with poison, and the whole shebang. Then Xanxus is ranting about how he's an illegitimate son who's actually not related to the Ninth whatsoever, so he can't be Vongola Decimo.

"Geez if he already knew he couldn't be Vongola Decimo, and that the rings would reject him, then why did he have to do this ring conflict anyway? Could've saved us a lot of time," I huffed, crossing my arms, and looking at the scene unfolding in front of me.

Reborn just gave me a pointed look, and then my attention was shifted to a running Ari.

"Somebody save me, this crazy bitch wants to kill me!" She cried, while there was indeed a crazy Medusa chasing her. But her hood wasn't on anymore, and I could see green eyes, with almost a feline look to them, and her roots were bright red, even though the bottom half of her hair was magenta.

"Outsiders are prohibited to help," The Cervello so kindly informed us. Not that we could anyway, we were standing on a tiny piece of land, with a bunch of infrared sensors surrounding us.

Apparently, Bel and Mammon were having a very nice conversation with Ryohei, Chrome, Gokudera, Yam, and Hibari, until Ari ran straight through the middle of it, and Bel caught Medusa by her hood.

"Peasants have to obey the prince. Don't you remember Boss's plan?" Medusa let out a huff, but stopped running after Ari.

"Plan…?" Yam asked.

"Oh yes," Mammon (Or should I say Viper) replied, "An elite squad of fifty Varia members will soon be here any moment,"

It finally dawned upon Colonello and Reborn, what the Varia's ulterior motive was, and Ryohei protested.

"The Boss called in enough support to deal with everything involved with this incident after he won," Mammon continued, "They are elites, who are only ranked second to us in fighting prowess,"

"Everything involved in this incident?" Yam echoed.

"Could he mean...?" Tsuna thought aloud.

"What could he mean?" Ari asked, furrowing her eyebrows, and cocking her head to the side, "I'm really confused here guys. Would _someone_ care to explain?"

"I'm sorry," The Cervello broke in, "We cannot allow outside interference during the match."

"I don't really care," Bel sneered, as he slashed the Cervello closest to him. She fell to the ground, while the other one's face finally started to show emotion.

It was fear.

"They finally did it," Shamal stated.

"If that's how they're gonna act, we can support Tsuna's side!" Colonello announced. "Let us out, kora!"

"In this case, you shouldn't have any complaints!" Dino added.

"I shall fight as well!" Basil declared, baring his boomerang.

"Very well," The Cervello admitted, "We will turn off your infrared sensors." She pressed a button, and said they were turned off.

"Let's go, kora!" Colonello announced.

"Wait," I said, using my foot to block him from going forward.

"Yuki's right," Reborn said, when Leon turned into goggles over his eyes. "The sensors haven't been turned off at all."

"Actually I was just going to say that that I have a plan, but okay, I guess that works. Now my plan-" I was rudely interrupted by Mammon informing us that he tampered with the sensors. And now he was going to kill us all in that cage. Great.

"Guys I have a-" I tried again, but was interrupted a second time by Colonello whipping out his big ass rifle, and saying that he was going to shoot his way out.

"It's useless," The Cervello informed us. "The cage is set to explode if attacked on the inside."

"Then we will have to break them out!" Gokudera declared.

"No need," I huffed, a bit annoyed that no one was listening to me.

"What do you mean by that Yuki?" Reborn asked.

"I was going to say that I knew the Varia was going to tamper with the sensors, so I tampered with sensors before they tampered with them. Ok…point is," I took out a little remote control from my pocket, "I can get us out of here."

"Why didn't you tell us that earlier?" Shamal questioned, and I facepalmed.

"Breathe Yuki, just breathe," I muttered to myself, and took a few calming breaths. "Even though the sensors are disabled, I don't think we need to do anything anyway."

Just as I finished that sentence, three Varia officers appeared.

"We were waiting for you," Medusa snickered.

"I am sorry to report that all of our troops have been defeated. He was too strong, and had the power of a demon."

"Wha-?" Bel gasped, and then the three officers were blown away by a particularly strong air current. It turns out Lancia came to save Tsuna, Xanxus got disqualified, and now Tsuna was officially Vongola Decimo. He would succeed the Ninth, with his seven guardians.

We all stepped out of the cage, and Reborn stood in front of Tsuna with rare smile on his face.

"Well done. Now you can go home."

 **OMAKE!**

Haru: Hi again everyone! Welcome back to Haru's Haru Haru Dangerous Interview Corner!

Reborn: How is this interview even dangerous?

Haru: Well today, we have a very dangerous guest indeed. And if we aren't careful, this interview could become deadly. Now. Please welcome Rikka-san, or Medusa from the Varia! Applause! *Cue the door being lowered onto the ground with no one in it*

Haru: Hahi? Why is there no one in the box?

Reborn: We are talking about a Varia assassin; she could be anywhere.

Yuki: Like right behind you! *Appears behind Reborn's chair*

Reborn: *Throws his espresso over his head, onto Yuki.* We were talking about Medusa, not you. Now scram.

Yuki: Okay, okay. *Walks off dejectedly, covered in coffee*

Haru: I know who can help us find her! Ari-chan! Ari-chan, where are you?

Ari: Somebody called for me?

Reborn: Yes, we need you to find Medusa, and I take it you guys are best friends.

Ari: Uhhh….if you call her trying to kill me…twice, as being 'best friends' then I don't know what a bad friend is.

Medusa: Make that three times! Prepare yourself Ari-chan! *Runs at Ari full speed brandishing her needles.*

Ari: Gee…Thanks Reborn. *Runs off, with a blood-thirsty Medusa at her heels*

Haru: Hahi? What happened? I was supposed to interview Rikka-san.

Reborn: You told me to find her and I did. Find Ari, you find Medusa. You might want to hurry up if you don't want to find her dead body. I think Ari is a lot more useful alive.

Haru: Ok! ThatconcludesthisepisodeofHaru'sharuharudangerousinterviewcorner! Seeyouagainnextweek! (Haru said these words twice as fast as usual) *Runs off at full speed to prevent Ari's death.*

Reborn: I think what she was trying to say is that Ari has been killed and her funeral is next week. Now. Who has some more espresso?

Yuki: I got some! If you wanna wring it out of my hair and clothes.

*Gunshot*

A/N: There is another chapter after this. Keep on reading! Well…that was fun. Anyway since this chapter is a bit short, I'm just gonna do another chapter after this, well half chapter….but it's still one chapter…if that makes any sense whatsoever. Ok, my sleep deprived brain is not working with me. Just read and enjoy!

Target 24.5: Dress shopping (Still Yuki POV)

So after all that action, it felt nice to go home, and just sleep, something that I have not been getting enough of. I woke up extremely, (Haha, I'm Ryohei now,) refreshed and happy, because today was the day I was going dress and shoe shopping. Who wouldn't be happy? So basically, since Tsuna won the title of Vongola Decimo and all that, the Ninth was throwing a ball to congratulate him. We got the invites and everything. It was more of a gala to be honest. It was also going to be in Italy, in the Vongola Mansion, and formal attire only of course. Something Ari does not have. So I was blessed with the once in a lifetime chance of dragging Ari dress shopping with me. I also invited Kyoko and Haru. I did invite Chrome, but I think she wasn't going.

I hopped out of bed, and put on a simple pair of denim shorts and a grey t-shirt; easy to get on and off while trying on dresses. I then walked over to Tsuna's house, finding Kyoko and Haru standing outside.

"Ohayo, Yuki-chan!" Kyoko greeted when she saw me.

"Where's Ari?" I asked, once I caught up to them.

"She's coming," Haru replied happily. "This is going to be so fun~desu!"

The door opened, and a sleepy disheveled Ari emerged.

"Trying to get yourself out of this?" I asked her teasingly, and she just shot me a death glare. I swear if looks could kill, I would be dead six times just like Mukuro.

"Oh, and by the way Ari," I called out, while we were walking to the dress shop. "You have to wear a long dress."

"Why a long dress?" Ari argued, "I'm twelve, that's weird."

"Well you're turning thirteen, right?" Ari nodded and I smiled, "Well then, that means you can wear a long dress."

"You also don't look _almost thirteen_ ," Kyoko giggled. It was true actually. Ari was pretty tall for her age, maybe because I was short, but she was also _developed_ in some places. *Cough cough, wink wink*

"We also need shoes!" Haru cried out gleefully, and I laughed. I absolutely adore shoe shopping. Ari just got ten times paler.

"Ari how tall are you?" I asked, and she told me about 5'3 and a half give or take.

"Tsk tsk," I shook my head.

"Why?" Ari asked.

"Because you will have to walk down with Tsuna, and you can't be taller than him. Duh." I replied.

"Walk down with him…? What are you talking about?" She asked, furrowing her brows so they were all scrunched together.

"Just trust Yuki-san okay? She will make sure you look bangin' at the Vongola Gala." Haru and I giggled together, and Kyoko was patting Ari' back soothingly.

Once we reached the dress shop, we started the hunt. I was personally in tulle and taffeta heaven, while Ari just looked like she wanted to stab her eyes out.

"Remember," I reminded her, "You are required to wear a long dress. No buts, ifs, or whys. It is required. Kyoko and Haru on the other hand can wear a short dress." I laughed at Ari's put out expression.

"Is Ari-chan pouting?" Haru asked, but the sound was muffled because she was carrying ten million dresses.

"I say Haru-chan goes first," Kyoko suggested, "She will try on each dress and then come out. We will then pick a dress for her together okay?" We all nodded and Haru disappeared into the dressing room. Haru tried on a variety of dresses; long, short, a range of different colors, different cuts, different designs, but in the end she settled for a simple navy blue, off the shoulder ensemble that looked so cute on her. The assistant came, and told her the dress needed some jazzing up, so Haru also bought a black beaded and embroidered sash to go with it.

Next was Kyoko. She also tried on a variety of different dresses, but when she came out in a black dress, we told her to stick to pastels and lighter shades. Black just looked downright wrong on Kyoko. She finally settled on a simple Sherri Hill dress. It was bright yellow and reflected her innocence and bright personality.

I had to go next, since Ari was amazingly picky, and only managed to find two dressed she was willingly to try on. I on the other hand, had like ten different dresses in my arms. It ranged from short dresses, long dresses, and a whole bunch of other dresses. I tried on a backless bright red Sherri Hill number, but it didn't look good on me. I was leaning toward a short dress, but since Haru and Kyoko bought short dresses, and I didn't want to wear a long dress, we compromised. So I picked a red high-low dress, short in the front, long in the back.

Then it was finally Ari's turn. She only took like five minutes, because the first dress she came out in was the one. It was a coral Sherri Hill dress with beading, and it had a halter neckline, so she wouldn't have to be constantly pulling up her dress during the night. (Which Kyoko and I would sadly have to do. Strapless dress struggles.)

Next we went onto shoes, Haru buying a simple pair of black pumps that were only like three and a half inches. Kyoko settled for wedges, since she wasn't confident in walking in heels. She picked a pair with white straps and a cork heel. Ari took a little longer, and since she was wearing a long dress, we just picked a simple pair of strappy silver shoes that were three inches. Me, on the other hand, picked a pair of sparkly gold five inch stilettos. They weren't the most comfortable things in the world, but they were too cute to pass up.

"How the fuck do you walk in those things?" Ari asked me, once she saw me practically skipping around the store when I found them. I just grinned at her, and continued frolicking.

"I was born with it."

A/N: Whoooo! Technically two chapters done but whatever. I will be slowing updates down, because school starts in exactly a week, and I will try to crank out as many chapters as possible. After this little Vongola Gala arc, we will jump straight into the Future Arc! Look forward to it! I included links of what I envisioned everyone to be in, so if you want, you can check them out! Since I can;t embed live links into my story. IDK why, if anyone knows how, please PM me. Just copy and paste whatever I gave you ;) It's just the designer and dress number.

LOL and life experience, don't buy shoes that are cute, but uncomfortable. For an after party after an event I wore a pair of gold glittery five inch stilettos and my feet hurt so bad. And I was dancing, adds to the pain.

Kyoko's dress: Sherri Hill 21257

Haru's dress: Windsor Royal leading lady skater dress

Ari's dress: Sherri Hill 3836

Yuki's dress: Night Moves by Allure 6405

Even though Chrome didn't go shopping with them, I had a dream that Chrome was wearing this dress, LOL

Chrome's dress: Just look up: isd387

Should I include shoes? Lol idk, PM me if you want pics of their shoes.


	26. To The Vongola Gala

Target 25: To The Vongola Gala (Ari POV)

Disclaimer: I haven't said this in a long time. I don't own KHR.

Holy crap, I'm on a private jet, headed to Italy. Since Tsuna was finally going to be Vongola Decimo, the Ninth was throwing him a gala, and we were all supposed to attend. Since it was formal attire only, Yuki dragged me dress shopping. At least I bought a dress that I could tolerate. It was currently 1 AM Japan time, and everybody was super sleepy once we boarded the jet. I then checked my phone again, thinking my eyes betrayed me. It was September already. Holy shit. This exchange program was only supposed to be three months. I scrambled to think of when I first arrived here in Japan. I think I first arrived in late June.

'June, July, August, September,' I sang in my head. If I counted that right, that meant I was to go home any week from now. Time really does fly when you are having fun. I looked around, surveying what everybody was doing.

Gokudera was happily talking Tsuna's ear off, while the latter was struggling to stay awake. Ryohei was snoring to the extreme, with Yamamoto sitting next to him, flipping through a baseball magazine. He didn't seem bothered by Ryohei's obnoxious snoring. He also had earplugs in his ears. Kyoko and Haru were having a really deep conversation about cake, and Lambo, Fuuta, and I-Pin all feel asleep immediately after they got comfortable. Yuki was slumped against the window snoring peacefully, with Chrome sitting next to her, also asleep. Hibari was sitting in the back signing papers. Before we took off, Hibari immediately went to the back, and announced that we were to keep a meter and half radius, and if we were to intrude upon _his_ space, he would bite us to death. How…Hibari-esque. I smiled. Oh, the Vongola Family is really the best. How was I supposed to leave them behind, after all we've been through together?

Thinking happy thoughts and seeing everybody just look so… _peaceful_ , I secretly prayed that some miracle would happen; some miracle that would just give me a little more time with them. But I berated myself in my head. Everyone knows that miracles don't exist. But I could hope. Hope and pray that they do.

With that, I finally managed to fall asleep.

* * *

I woke up with a groaned and sighed. You know when you take a nap and wake up feeling worse than before? I felt like I haven't slept in days, even though I just took a nap. Uhg. I felt like shit. I stretched and sighed again. I looked around the cabin and everybody was still in the same positions. Gokudera was still blabbing, and everybody else was sleeping. I envied them. They were actually getting some sleep. I looked around again, and made eye contact with Tsuna. Well…half eye contact. His eye lids were drooping, and he looked like he was ready to pass out.

"Oh, Ari-chan you're awake," Tsuna said, a bit relieved.

"Mhmm," I nodded, "How long was I out?"

"Oh, about 2 hours," Tsuna replied, and Gokudera looked a bit miffed, because Tsuna wasn't paying attention to him. Wow, Tsuna had to listen to Gokudera's non-stop rambling for 2 hours. I felt kinda bad for him. I shot Gokudera a smile, and grinned at him.

"Tsuna, come sit next to me," I said, while patting the empty seat next to me. Tsuna looked at me with grateful eyes.

"You bitch, how dare you take Juudaime away from me!" Gokudera fumed.

"Calm down Gokudera-kun, you are going to wake everybody up," Tsuna tiredly replied.

Gokudera immediately changed his attitude, "I'm sorry Juudaime. You are the best for thinking of the other people though."

"You need your rest too Gokudera-kun," Tsuna told him, and immediately there were sparkled in Gokudera's eyes.

"You care for me that much, Juudaime?" Gokudera asked. I swear he had dogs ears and a tail right now.

"Yes, now get as much rest as you can," Tsuna advised, and Gokudera promptly fell asleep.

Tsuna slumped into the seat next to me.

"Ari-chan, what if I don't want to become Vongola Decimo?" Tsuna asked me, slouching down further.

I snorted, "Tsuna, you are becoming Decimo whether you like it or not. Look around you; you already have an amazing family that would die for you."

"That's the thing!" Tsuna exclaimed suddenly, "I don't want anyone to get hurt! When Lambo got hurt I felt so bad, and when you got hurt I almost lost it! What type of boss would I be if my friends get hurt because of me?"

'Crap…don't have a good answer for that….what should I say? I've never been good at comforting people…errmm….change topic? Yes, I should do that…' These thoughts were racing through my head, and I decided to change the topic.

"Ummm…Tsuna…you know what day it is?" I asked him hesitantly.

"It's September 7th…What about it?" Tsuna replied, looking at me puzzled.

"Isn't Gokudera's birthday on the 9th?" I asked him. I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I would be leaving soon.

"I almost forgot about that!" Tsuna cried, "What should we do?"

"Should we celebrate his birthday in Italy?" I suggested. I was now racking my brain to bring up my leaving in the most inconspicuous way possible.

When Tsuna didn't reply, I looked at him. He was fast asleep, his head titling forward at the most uncomfortable angle. I brought his head back, to rest against the headrest, but his head rolled to the side, facing away from me. I decided to let him be, and I found that being with him relaxed me. I was able to fall asleep again, and this time I stayed asleep.

* * *

"Ari-chan, wake up," I could hear faintly, as someone was shaking my shoulder. I immediately jerked awake, and grabbed the offending hand off my shoulder.

"Don't touch my shoulder," I growled, and my eyes met with warm honey ones. "Oh…sorry Tsuna." I said a bit sheepishly, removing my vice like grip off his hand. He was looking at me confused.

"I-I just...don't like when people touch my shoulders," I stated, and turned my back to him.

'I have to distance myself from them,' I thought, 'I've already had to say goodbye to a lot of people, and I want this goodbye to hurt as little as possible. I should've known going into this that getting close would ultimately hurt me. I should've listened to Tou-san.' 'Don't get too close,' He warned me, before I left to board the plane, 'I don't want to see my precious Ari hurt a second time, okay? Remember what I told you.'

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you like this?" Tsuna asked breaking me out of my reverie, and I turned around and looked at him cocking my head.

"Like what?" I echoed, raising my eyebrows.

"Whenever I feel like I'm getting to know you, you always just out up another wall. I've realized that I don't know much about you at all. Except what Reborn told me about you being in the mafia, and stuff like that." Tsuna admitted.

I just gave Tsuna a small smile. "Someone told me this once. To break down walls, you have to put some up first. I'm sorry if I'm not really a people person, but it's just…hard to explain." I just realized how selfish it sounded for me to be distancing myself from these people in order to not hurt myself when we said goodbye, which would be soon. But I couldn't help it. I couldn't, wouldn't be hurt a second time.

I hate saying goodbye because I never know if it's just for today or for forever. And I didn't want to take that risk.

I sadly didn't recognize it then, but I would hurt a lot of people in order not to hurt myself. If only I had realized…

A/N: That was kinda unplanned. I mean…Ari has to go sometime right? Sorry if this chapter is a little short. More of a setup chapter. I suck at writing angst, if you can even call this that, but all is not rainbows and sparkles in Ari's world. Will she leave? I really don't know. LOL, trust me when I say I know what I'm doing. Cause I actually don't. Anyway, next chapter will be a really long one though, I promise. I think next chapter I'll do both OCs POV in one chapter. It'll just make more sense if we have the Vongola Gala in both POVs. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me this far! I love you guys! ~Until next time.


	27. Cinderella And Champagne

Target 26: Cinderella And Champagne (Ari & Yuki POV)

Warning: There is under aged drinking in this. If it makes you uncomfortable I'm sorry. Just thought I'd get that out of the way.

Short A/N: I will be doing this chapter in both OCs POVs. It just makes me sense to do that. Tell me if you like it or hate it. Enjoy! Read and Review please! ;3

 **Ari POV:**

It was currently 4:45 PM, and all the girls were gathered in one room. Since everybody was staying in the Vongola Mansion for the time being, all the girls decided to get ready together. They had to pick Ari's room.

Excited squeals and laughter could be heard through the doors, as the girls were busy figuring out what hair and makeup they should do. Haru seemed to know about Tsuna's involvement in the mafia, but Kyoko just thought that he was inheriting some type of business. Classic Kyoko being all clueless and ignorant, but I knew it was for the best. But the saying 'ignorance is bliss' can only go so far.

I sighed for the nth time, as Yuki pulled all the bobby pins out of my hair, and took it down from the bun.

"What was wrong with the updo?" I asked her; getting a little frustrated at how many times Yuki was doing and redoing my hair.

"It just…looked…wrong." She muttered, while grabbing the curling iron, and re-curling some strands.

"You know what?" Yuki asked, and I sighed.

"What?" I asked.

"I think I'm just going to leave your hair down." Yuki finally decided.

I just sat there gawking at her.

"You want to leave my hair down? Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" I asked her incredulously.

"I just needed to cancel out the possibilities and see what looked best, so calm yourself ok?"

Once she was done, my long silver hair fell in loose ringlets down my back. Then she moved on to my makeup. It was simple and light, just the way I liked it. Since Kyoko's hair was too short to do anything with, and we were struggling with the hair extensions, Yuki just left her hair how it usually is. Kyoko was wearing a white headband that had a big satin bow on it though. She was wearing minimal makeup, but the makeup she did have on highlighted her natural features.

Yuki put Haru's hair in an updo, and curled her side bangs. She stuck some sparkly flower clips in the bun, and Haru's makeup was a bit heavier, with some eyeliner and mascara.

Chrome didn't want Yuki to do her hair and makeup, so Yuki just gave up trying and left Chrome how she was.

Yuki had to get ready last because she was busy doing us first. Once she was done, everybody in the room was gawking at her.

"What?" She asked, looking at how we were staring at her.

"You are Yuki right~desu?" Haru asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I am," Yuki laughed, "What the power of makeup can do," and I had to agree. She was wearing a black wig. The sides were braided, and the strands met in the back, so it was kind of like a half up half down style. The ends were slightly wavy. She was also wearing blue colored contacts. Not ice blue like mine, but a deeper blue. She also had makeup layered on so thick, it looked like her bone structure changed, and she looked 20.

"Why do you look like that?" I asked her, confused on why she had to change her appearance.

She put a finger to her lips and smiled, "I have to keep my identity a secret."

Before we could ask any more questions, Tsuna popped his head in, but his hands were covering his eyes.

"Is everybody decent?" he asked, a bit flustered.

"No Tsuna!" Yuki cried a fake tone of surprise in her voice. She turned to the girls and grinned. Tsuna looked a bit confused.

"Kyoko's still in her underwear!" I yelled, motioning for everyone to stifle their giggles.

Tsuna promptly turned red, and was stuttering out incoherent fragments of words.

We briefly heard someone yell, 'Maximum Cannon,' before there was a gaping hole in the wall right next to the door.

"SAWADA!" Ryohei screamed, while poking his head through the hole in the wall. He also covered his eyes with his hand. "Are you seeing my baby sister in her underwear!?"

Everyone lost their shit, and all the girls were doubled over laughing.

"Don't smear your makeup!" Yuki warned, but she was also having trouble stifling her laughter.

"It's ok, onii-san, I'm fully clothed," Kyoko giggled. And everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and removed their hands from their eyes.

One by one, they started coming in our room. All the male guardians were wearing black dress pants, black dress shirts, and a different color tie.

Ryohei's was golden yellow, Tsuna's was a dusty orange, Gokudera's was red, Yamamoto's was blue, Hibari's was deep violet, and Lambo's was forest green. They also had a black suit jacket over that.

Yuki wolf-whistled, "You guys do clean up nice." She admitted, and everyone looked at her.

"Ano…" Tsuna started hesitantly, "Who are you?" I realized that they couldn't possibly recognize Yuki like that. But she winked at Kyoko, Haru, Chrome, and I, and stuck out her hand towards Tsuna.

"My name is Alessa Rossi, nice to meet you," She drawled out, with a heavy…Italian accent? Before Tsuna could accept her handshake, Gokudera intercepted it, by stepping in front of Tsuna.

"What business do you have with him?" Gokudera growled, standing in front of Tsuna protectively.

"My, my, I don't mean any harm. Calm down, _bambino._ "

Gokudera bristled at that word, and I remembered that bambino was baby in Italian. Was Yuki trying to piss him off?

Before Gokudera had a chance to whip out his dynamite, Reborn jumped in through the hole Ryohei left.

"Ok everybody gather 'round. You will be walking down in partners. There are two staircases that will connect to the main one. Once your name is called you will walk down the stairs, smile, whatever, and then meet with your partner, link arms if you will, then walk down together down the main staircase." Reborn dramatically pulled out an old-fashioned scroll, and unrolled it. "Tsuna is with Ari, Yamamoto is with Haru, Hibari is with Chrome, Ryohei is with Kyoko, Lambo is with I-Pin and Fuuta, and Gokudera is with…Alessa. I'll see you in exactly 15 minutes. If you forget who your partner is we matched you up by your dress and tie color. Same color dress and tie, you guys are partners."

Reborn disappeared through the hole, and then all the girls scrambled to get our shoes on. I slipped on my shoes, but frowned at how loose it felt. Then I remembered that I had to buy a whole size up, because they didn't carry my size.

"Y-Alessa," I called, and Yuki walked toward me.

" _Si, bella_?" She asked, in her fake accent. It was weird, but I ignored it.

"Got any tricks to make shoes smaller?" I asked, and Yuki looked at my shoes.

"They aren't that big, so live with it," She declared in her normal voice. "At least you aren't wearing shoes that are crushing your pinky toes." She straightened up, and I saw that her feet were red around the edges.

"Now, _tutti,_ let's go wait for our introductions." She called with a clap of her hands.

"Shall we?" She asked Gokudera, as she held the door open for him. He scoffed, but walked through with Tsuna following him. Once all the guys had exited the room, Yuki addressed all the girls.

"Just for this night, my name is Alessa okay? So if you call me Yuki I will not respond. It's for…safety reasons." Haru and Kyoko nodded their heads, Chrome just looked like she understood, not that she would call Yuki anyway, but I figured, it was something with her involvement in the mafia.

"Now, what are we waiting for?"

I was waiting at the top of the little staircase on the left, with Tsuna across from me. I could tell he was nervous so I gave him a thumbs up and he smiled. It was uncomfortable walking in these shoes, because they were a size too big, and whenever I walked, I had to curl my toes in order to keep my feet from sliding to and fro. At least the shoes had straps, and weren't pumps, because the straps were the only reasons the shoes were still on my feet. The announcer was positioned at the bottom of the staircase in from of the entrance.

Reborn came up to me a little after we walked out of the room, and told me that my job was to stay at the entrance greeting people. I would be with Tsuna, and of course people would want to see the Vongola Decimo, so my job was to memorize their faces and tell Reborn if anyone suspicious appeared. Reborn also showed me a piece of paper with a bunch of faces on it. I memorized the faces, and Reborn told me if I saw one of them, I had to immediately alert him or someone else. Let's say those faces weren't the most pleasant to look at, and that was one of the times I cursed my photographic memory.

'Great,' I thought, 'I was stuck being a greeter. How fun.'

"Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and his Moon Guardian Matsuki Arisa!" The announcer boomed with a loud deep voice. Tsuna started walking, and I followed. We met at the center of the main staircase, linked arms, and walked down together. I could hear murmurs rippling through the crowds, and it was so obvious they were gossiping.

Right…most people didn't know about the moon guardian. At least that's what Yuki told me.

We walked towards the entrance, and started greeting the guests. If I was stuck on door duty all night, I would kill myself. All well. I plastered my brightest fakest smile on my face and started memorizing faces.

* * *

 **Yuki POV:**

All the girls were lined up on the left staircase, and all the guys were lined up on the right staircase. After Ari and Tsuna made their entrance, the announcer started with the next couple…which were me and Gokudera.

"Vongola Decimo's Storm Guardian, Gokudera Hayato, and Alessa Rossi!" He announced, and I heard whispers through the guests.

"Don't touch me _Alessa,"_ Gokudera sneered, once we met at the main staircase. I giggled and latched onto his arm, despite his protests and glares. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, a lady came up to me with open arms. She seemed to know me, but I've never seen her in my life. Whatever, I'll just go ahead and greet her.

" _Ciao bella_ ," I said, while air kissing both her cheeks. She returned the gesture and looked at me.

"I swear you look different from the last time I saw you, Alessa," She stated, looking me up and down.

"Nonsense," I replied, "You look exactly the same," She giggled.

"Now if you don't mind me, I have company waiting. _Mi scusi_ ," She followed my gaze to Gokudera.

" _Scusi_ " I said, while getting through the thick crowd.

"Who was she?" Gokudera asked me, suspicious.

"I do not know," I replied honestly. There were a lot of people staring, and Gokudera and I made our way to the refreshment table, where there was like no one.

"My name is Alessa Rossi. I'm known in the mafia world as a…loaner per say. People need money, they come to me."

"So you're a loan shark, basically," Gokudera deadpanned and I sighed.

"Loan shark is such a vulgar word no?" I asked. "I prefer….philanthropist."

"Well, people seem to be looking at you weirdly." Gokudera deduced.

"Maybe because the last party you were at, your hair was blonde," A voice behind me stated, and I turned around.

"Ah, Dino!" I gave him air kisses on both cheeks. "Last time I saw you, Reborn was still tutoring you. You were still… what is the word, _piccolo_ …?"

"A pipsqueak?" Gokudera offered, and I nodded.

" _Si_! A pipsqueak. Pipsqueak Dino!" I exclaimed.

Dino chuckled sheepishly, "That was forever ago; the only person who still calls me that is Reborn. But now I have my own student." I feigned surprise.

"You do?" I asked, trying to seem curious.

"Yes, and I would like you to introduce him to you," Dino started, as he looked around. When he finally found who he was looking for he motioned for him to come over.

I saw a head of black hair slowly walk over to us.

"Kyoya, I would like you to meet Alessa. She was the one the one who helped me pull the Chivarone out of debt."

"Oh, do not flatter me, Dino. Reborn did most of the heavy lifting, I did not do much," I stated.

"Hn," Hibari grunted, and I think that was his way of saying hello.

Welp, I should just pretend that I don't know him.

"He is not a talker is he?" I asked Dino, and Dino shook his head.

"He's really strong for his age though, so he is an asset for the Vongola Family." Dino reached over, and grabbed a cookie off the table. He proceeded to eat it, but very messily.

"Dino, you made a mess!" I clucked, as I grabbed a napkin, and brushed the crumbs off his suit. He grinned impishly, and I paled.

"Dino, _carrismo,_ please tell me Romario or someone is here with you," Because if Romario wasn't, I'd have to distance myself from Dino to avoid any trouble.

"Nope," He replied cheekily, "I convinced Romario that I could go myself." Just as he said that, he probably jinxed something, because he reached out to grab a glass of champagne that the waiters were walking around with. Dino's clumsiness never failed to amaze me, as he somehow managed to knock the tray out of the waiter's hand. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the flutes of champagne and tray went flying…toward me.

" _Gesu Christo_!" I exclaimed, and on instinct, I grabbed the thing nearest me to block the incoming champagne, so I wouldn't ruin my makeup and my cover would be blown. Apparently the thing I grabbed wasn't really a _thing_. It was Hibari Kyoya.

His mouth parted slightly in surprise at my sudden movement, and a champagne flute hit him square in the mouth. He spluttered slightly on the liquid, but I think he swallowed it. I gulped in fear. Hibari had a really really low alcohol tolerance. I think even the tiny bit that got in his mouth could get him drunk, and I don't want to see a drunk Hibari.

Dino was apologizing fervently to the waiter, and when he walked back towards us he frowned.

"Kyoya, have you been drinking? You reek of alcohol." I held my breath, thinking that Hibari would whip out his tonfas and beat the crap out of Dino, but he just fell forward, and Dino caught him.

"Aww," Dino cooed, "Kyoya's a lightweight isn't he? I'll just bring him someone to rest." I nodded, and grabbed a napkin dabbing the few drops of champagne that got on my dress.

"Miss," Someone tapped me on the shoulder, "The man over there sends you his regards with this drink." I turned around, and there was a waiter carrying a tray with a drink on it. It was bright blue, and looked quite appealing.

"Don't mind if I do." I laughed, "Tell the man I said _grazie_." I took a sip of the drink before Gokudera grabbed it out of my hand, and dumped it into a nearby plant.

"You don't know what's in it!" Gokudera chided.

I scoffed, "Loosen up, _bambino_ ," I teased. "And I think it's time for us to hit the dance floor.

* * *

 **Back to Ari POV:**

I groaned silently, as I smiled and greeted the millionth person. This was really getting tiring, but I looked over at Tsuna. At first he seemed really uncomfortable with all these people paying attention to him, but he relaxed a little, and he was a pro at smiling and greeting and shaking people's hands. I, on the other hand, was dying on the inside.

Then Reborn popped out from behind me and scared the shit out of me.

"You memorize all their faces?" Someone asked in my ear, and I nearly cursed in French, but there was someone standing in front of me and I bit my tongue and smiled at them.

"Reborn!" Tsuna shrieked, and I turned around, finding Reborn cosplaying as a plant.

"Well, I'm just here to tell you that you guys are off door duty. All the guests have arrived and they closed the doors." I let out a sigh of relief, and it seemed Tsuna was relieved too.

"But…you guys have to do the first dance in approximately…30 seconds." Reborn so kindly informed up.

"Gee thanks for telling us in advance," I snorted sarcastically, as Reborn aimed a kick at Tsuna's head. Apparently that caused Tsuna to stumble onto the dance floor, dragging me with him since our arms were still linked.

"Now we have the tradition of the first dance with the Vongola Decimo, and his partner!"

The orchestra started playing Blue Danube, and I sighed in relief. I practically knew this waltz inside and out, since my parents forced me to learn it when I was four.

"Tsuna, please tell me you know how to waltz." I hoped, and he looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Scusi, mi scusi," I heard somebody say, and the orchestra stopped. Yuki, or should I say Alessa walked up to us and handed Tsuna a glass.

"Liquid courage," She said. "Drink up." Tsuna took the glass, and without hesitating he downed the drink, cringing a little. Alessa took back the glass then headed over to the orchestra. She whispered something to them, and they started playing again.

Anyway I looked back at Tsuna, and his eyes weren't their usual honey color; they were glowing a warm orange, like his tie. He looked like he was in hyper dying will mode, without the flame on his forehead.

"Just follow my lead," He whispered as he put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. We started to waltz, and oh my god, that boy could waltz. I don't know what Yuki gave him, but it gave him the technique of a ballet dancer and a person taking ballroom for like 10 years. He was smooth in his moves, and during the lifts, he knew where to hold me. His shape and form was good when we were actually waltzing. Then more and more people joined us on the dance floor, including Yuki and Gokudera, Haru and Yamamoto, Kyoko and Ryohei. I think Yuki forced them to take dance classes, because they weren't half bad.

There were parts where we got to switch partners, so I got to dance with everyone (excluding Hibari) and some random people too. It was actually really fun. Once the dance ended, it was approximately 10 minutes long, I felt somebody tugging at my dress. I looked down and saw I-Pin. I picked her up and held her.

"Yes, I-Pin? What's the matter?" I asked her.

"Jiějiě, suspicious people." I-Pin told me.

"What weird people?" I asked, immediately on alert.

"They are wearing these weird suits, and Lambo and I can only see them. I tried telling somebody but they wouldn't listen."

"It's ok, I-Pin," I soothed. "Jiejie will catch the bad guys." I put I-Pin down, and she ran after Lambo because he was making a mess out of the candy bar. Then Lambo had to run to me, and tried using my dress as a tissue.

"Lambo what's wrong?" I asked him, keeping him far away from my dress.

"Somebody stole my candy!" Lambo wailed, crocodile tears streaming out of his eyes. "There were these weird dudes that looked like ghosts, and they just took all my candy!"

I randomly plucked a lollipop of the table, unwrapped it and stuck it in Lambo's mouth.

"It's ok, I'll handle this." I put Lambo down, and let him suck on his lollipop.

But out of the corner of my eye I saw something move. I looked over my shoulder and saw these two guys standing near the table, their body language casual. They both had non-nondescript brown hair, with brown eyes. They were also wearing the classic penguin suit with a black tie. It was nothing eye-catching, and I racked my memory to see if I recognized them.

I didn't.

They looked normal. _Too normal_. Well whatever, maybe I'm just paranoid. But when Tsuna turned me, I looked back to see if they were still there. And they weren't. That immediately set off warning bells in my head.

I saw one of them put something in a drink, and then they gave it to a waiter. The waiter headed towards Tsuna, and I was right on his heels. Before Tsuna was able to take a sip, I broke in.

"Heey Tsuna, lovely night y'know? Hahaha."

"Yeah, it is pretty." Tsuna replied. I grabbed the drink out of his hand, and dragged him onto the dance floor.

"Tsuna, let's dance!" I exclaimed, maybe a little too enthusiastic. Whatever Yuki gave him wore off, and now he was just regular Tsuna.

"You can waltz right?" I asked him, as we made our way through the crowd.

"Uhhh…I'm not sure what happened last time, but I can't dance to save my life." Tsuna replied sheepishly.

"Just follow my lead," I informed him. Once I told him where to put his hands we started waltzing the night away.

Once I caught sight of the weird people again, I started waltzing us closer.

"With this invisibility suit, we can assassinate the Vongola Decimo without anyone knowing!" One of them cockily whispered. I slowly moved Tsuna closer to hear what they were saying more clearly.

Once we got close enough, I saw one of them holding a weird looking syringe, filled with weird looking liquid.

"Once we accomplish this mission, Boss will be so proud of us," The short one snickered.

"Shhh…" The taller one hushed. "Vongola Decimo is coming."

'Crap,' I thought, 'They were trying to kill Tsuna. Well I can't just stop the dance, and I couldn't let them get close to Tsuna, so I hatched a risky plan. I'd have to time it just right.'

We continued waltzing to the back corner where the assassins were, and I tried to look as normal as possible. Tsuna's back was to the assassins, and I could clearly see them prep the needle. When he was about to stab into Tsuna, I put one foot in between Tsuna's and turned us around real quick. I felt the needle go into my back, and heard a slight hissing noise that must have meant the syringe injected the solution mechanically.

"You idiot!" I heard thing one exclaim. "Boss only gave us one dose of poison and you didn't even get the right person!"

"Sorry, sorry," Thing two apologized.

I froze. Poison? Did they say poison? To be poisoned three times in the span of a few weeks, can't be good. I think there is like the poison god who really wants me to die from poison.

"Ari-chan…Ari-chan…" I didn't realize Tsuna was calling my name, until he started shaking my shoulders.

"Ari-chan, are you okay?" he asked, and I nodded.

"I just think I need…some fresh air…it's kind of stuff in here." He nodded, as I made my way outside. I purposely ran into thing two, and feigned shock.

"Ara? There's nothing here. What did I run into?" I said in mock confusion.

"See, bro," Thing one sniggered, "These suits are completely invisible."

"Anyway, let's get out of here!" Thing two said.

"Agreed!" Was thing one's response.

* * *

 **Back to Yuki POV:**

Reborn stood on a table, and clinked a butter knife against a champagne flute.

"Who would like to hear the beautiful Alessa Rossi play violin for us?" He suggested, and there were murmurs of approval from the crowd. "She will also be accompanied with Gokudera Hayato on piano." Again murmurs were heard because Gokudera was known as the piano prodigy, but he hasn't played since he was disowned by his family.

I shrugged and dragged Gokudera to the orchestra. I stopped a waiter on the way, and grabbed a flute of champagne and downed it.

"Liquid courage?" I offered Gokudera, handing him a flute of champagne. He gladly took it, and I gave the waiter back our empty glasses.

"Wait," Gokudera called, and grabbed two more glasses off the tray. I smiled at him as he downed one, and handed me the other one. I gladly took it. But if Reborn suggested this, than there must be a good reason why.

"I now present to you Scheherazade, Op.35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov."

I choked a little…just a little. Scheherazade had one of the most difficult violin solos…and I had to do it. Great, just great. Before my solo started, I saw a flash of pink, followed by a darker blur. It looks like they were headed outside.

What the hell is going on?

* * *

 **Back to Ari POV:**

I was going to follow the two perps, before I hand grabbed my wrist. I was about to judo flip the person, before I heard a familiar voice.

"Leaving the ball so soon?" Yamamoto joked.

I laughed, "No, but I do need fresh air."

"Then let me accompany you," he insisted, and I decided that he could help me nab the guys. While we were strolling through the garden, the conversation was light and mainly consisted of Yamamoto talking, and me making listening noises. I was too distracted on the assailants in front of us.

It seemed that thing one and thing two had enough sense to know that they were being followed, because they started running.

"Hey Yamamoto, let's play tag!" I shouted, already breaking out in a sprint. Yamamoto looked confused, but he started running after me anyway. I cursed as I felt my left shoe slipping off my foot. 'Screw it!' I thought, and kicked off my shoe. I also took off my right shoe, and prayed to someone that this would work. I squinted and drew my arm back. Then I threw the shoe with all my might, aiming for thing two because he was closer. I watched in satisfaction as my shoe sailed through the air, and nailed the perp right in the back of his head. He crumpled to the ground with a moan.

"Yamamoto my shoe!" I yelled. "Back home!" I watched as Yamamoto picked up my shoe. He sharpened his gaze as he took aim. I watched in awe, as my other shoe sailed over my head, and connected with the other assailant's head. He fell to the ground with a thud. They weren't invisible anymore. They were wearing these weird green suits that looked like wetsuits.

As I walked to the perp closest to me I winced in pain. Walking on gravel barefoot is really not fun.

"Tag, you're it." Yamamoto said, and I yelped as I felt myself being carried. My arms went instinctively around his neck, and I was silent as he carried me. Once we reached thing number two, he put me down. I put on my shoe, and sat on the perp.

"What's the antidote?" I hissed. The person was cocky enough to laugh, "There is no cure!"

"Then why am I not dead yet?" I challenged, standing up, and digging my heel into his back.

"The poison has a delayed reaction time, so no one would suspect us!" He yelped as I dug my heel into a pressure point on his back.

"But you will be dead in three days, I promise you." He sneered, and I kicked him in the temple with my heel effectively knocking him out.

I watched as I saw Yamamoto carrying the other assassin over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

I gawked at him, "You knocked him out?"

"Ahahaha, I didn't mean to throw it that hard." He grinned impishly than set the dude down next to the other knocked out person. He was also holding my other shoe.

"May I Cinderella?" He asked with a goofy grin on his face. I returned his grin, but then had to put on the shoe by myself, since he couldn't figure out how the straps worked and where they went.

Just then, security guards came running up with Tsuna behind them.

"Are you guys ok?" Tsuna panted, out of breath from running.

"Yeah, we're okay," I replied, as I gestured to the assassins knocked out on the ground.

"I heard them talking about a plan to kill Vongola Decimo, so I followed them." I informed the guards, and they brought them away.

"You really are okay?" Tsuna asked me again, his eyes looking at me for some sign that I wasn't.

"I really am." I insisted, but I was lying through my teeth. But me being like this means I could stay in Japan for a little longer…perhaps until then end of my life…which would be in three days.

A/N: Whoooo! Another chappie done. Sorry if you got confused by the switching in POVs. I tried writing this chapter in third person, only to scrap it when I was halfway done. So I hope you guys enjoyed, and yes, Ari has been poisoned….again. I kind of took the idea from the episode, where Verde sends assassins, and Gokudera turns five years old. That was a funny episode. And yes, Yuki now has another alias besides Claire Voyant. And I imagined her saying her lines with an Italian accent, and lots of hand movements, no? LOL. And sorry if the Italian isn't right. We all know how accurate google translate is ~Until next time!


	28. Should've Said No

Target 27: Should've Said No (Yuki POV)

Oh, the Vongola Gala was a blast. I forgot how fun it was to forget everything, and just become another person. Before we left for Italy, Reborn told me that it probably wouldn't be safe if my real name was used, because I have some….er….connections to the mafia and such. Using my Claire Voyant alias wouldn't work, because no one knows what Claire Voyant looked like. I did take special care in making sure no one ever found out. I just decided to go with the Alessa Rossi alias, because it was the safest one, and it wasn't that known either. It had been a while since I used my Alessa Rossi alias, but everyone seemed to buy it. That didn't avoid the questions I got from Gokudera and Tsuna about my whereabouts though. But I totally did not appreciate being used as a distraction for Ari and Yam.

Apparently while Gokudera and I were serenading the audience, Ari and Yam were outside chasing bad guys. She got to do all the fun things, while I was stuck playing a hella hard violin piece. Did I mention I haven't touched the violin in ages? I'm pretty sure my solo sucked, but whatever. What's done is done.

Anyway, today was a pretty normal day, until Ari came knocking on my door.

* * *

"Yes?" I asked, as I opened the door. When I did I saw Ari, who was out of breath from running to my house.

"YUUUUKIIII. OMG HELP ME!" She wailed. And I stood there just staring at her. After she calmed down, she managed to gather her wits again.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, or are you going to come in?" I asked her raising an eyebrow. She walked in and plopped herself down on the couch.

"Help me I'm dying," She told me again, and I just looked at her.

"If you're dying, why did you come to me and not Shamal or anything?" I questioned.

"You have Shamal on speed dial don't you?" Ari asked, almost desperately. "Plus I don't wanna visit that creepy doctor guy by myself."

"Awwww….you trust me. I feel flattered." I cooed, placing a hand on my chest and acting all touched.

"Yeah, not for long." Ari muttered, and I immediately got serious.

"Ari what happened at the Vongola Gala?" I inquired, just knowing something went down.

"Uhh…I might have gotten myself poisoned, and I might die in three days. Hahaha," Ari stated with a humorless chuckle.

"Poison sure does love you huh?" I concluded, and Ari sheepishly nodded. "That's what? The third time you got poisoned? Someone really wants you dead, and is doing it the cowardly way."

"Ok, whatever, can you just call Shamal?" Ari asked, fidgeting uncomfortably. I whipped out my cell phone, and Shamal was indeed on my speed dial. My phone only rang twice before Shamal picked up.

"That was fast." I deadpanned, knowing that Shamal probably saw my caller ID.

"Of course I would pick up if someone as lovely as you called. What do you need?"

"Well…I have Ari here with me…and she kinda got sick, so do you mind coming over to check her out?" I asked, and Shamal's immediate answer was yes.

In less than five minutes the doorbell rang and I got up to get it. I was greeted by Shamal attempting to glomp me, and I skillfully managed to avoid him. Once he saw Ari sitting on the couch, he propelled himself at her with his lips puckered. His lip met something, but they kissed the bottom of Ari's foot as she stuck her leg out and kept him at leg's length away.

"Creepy!" She yelled, while Shamal removed his face from her foot, and tried to stop the blood gushing from his nose.

"Why, you're lucky you're a lady." Shamal drawled, after his bloody nose finally stopped. "I'm hung over and came all the way over here for you, and that's the greeting I get? You are definitely a cold city woman after all. So, what's wrong?"

"Ari somehow managed to get herself poisoned at the Vongola Gala…again." I informed him, and Shamal just nodded.

"And where did you get injected?" He asked Ari, and she told him her back.

"It seemed that whoever poisoned you didn't mean to kill you." Shamal concluded after his initial examination. "The poison was most likely from a scorpion of some kind, and it was mildly toxic at best. You should be thankful that they didn't use anything that Medusa did."

Yuki nodded and Shamal gathered all his stuff.

"Anyway, if you need anything I will be there." Shamal reminded Yuki as she technically had to shove him out the door.

"So…since you came to me, there has to be something else on your mind isn't there?" I asked Ari crossing my arms, and raising m eyebrows.

"Umm….yeah, I guess." Ari replied, twiddling her thumbs.

"Well….are you going to tell me or no?" I asked her tapping my foot impatiently. Ari spent a few more moments in silence before she finally decided to speak.

"You know what? Let's go back to my house. What I'm about to tell you, I would like to tell Reborn as well." And I nodded.

We started walking to Tsuna's house and were there in like 5 minutes.

"Reborn? Are you here?" I called, and he popped his head out of Tsuna's room.

"Ciaossu, Yuki. What are you doing here?" He asked me, sipping a little cup of espresso.

"Apparently Ari has something to tell us." I informed him, and Ari stepped into the room.

"Ummm….Tsuna's not here is he?" Ari asked, and Reborn told us that he was out running some errands for Mama.

Once we were all situated in Tsuna's room, Ari took a deep breath.

"Ok, so my father contacted me last night and he said that the program was ending, and that he booked me on a flight to Quebec next week."

We all stayed silent for a few moments, before Reborn broke it.

"Well of course you have to go back, Ari. You don't live here, and your exchange program was only supposed to be three months. I had to call your father to have it extended, but he wouldn't allow any longer than a few more weeks for you to say your goodbyes."

Ari just gawked at Reborn while he was telling her this.

"You asked my dad to lengthen my stay here?" Ari asked incredulously, and Reborn nodded.

"You play a special role in the Vongola Family, plus I think that everybody forgot that you don't live here. It would be detrimental to the family if you left now, especially because of what's going to happen." Reborn and I made meaningful eye contact, and we basically had a conversation with just our eyes.

It went a little something like this:

 _Reborn: You do know what is going to happen right?_

 _Yuki: Of course I do, who do you think I am?_

 _Reborn: So I can trust that they will be okay without me?_

 _Yuki: Uhhh….sure, yeah you can totally trust me with them….hahaha._

 _Reborn: You know what happened in the future don't you? You know what happened to them…to me?_

 _Yuki: Trust me I know. I'll try and delay Ari as long as possible._

 _Reborn: Good._

And that's when we broke eye contact, and I turned to face Ari.

"So…you have your goodbyes in order?" I asked, and Ari froze. I could see a look of shock cross her face, and then it was replaced by disbelief and maybe a little bit of anger.

"Umm…not really. I still can't even think about saying goodbye to everybody." She muttered quietly.

'Well you don't have to.' I thought, almost laughing to myself. But I kept my face void of expression and nodded.

"What time is your flight?" Reborn asked, and Ari took out her phone.

"According to father, he's sending his private jet to pick me up, and I have to be on the tarmac at 11:15 on Friday."

"We have school that day." I broke in, and Ari nodded solemnly.

"So you guys won't be able to see me off." Ari sighed, and Reborn jumped to perch on her shoulder.

"Dame-Tsuna and the rest will see you off." Reborn reassured her, and he smirked a little to himself. "He'll say goodbye with his dying will."

With that the door opened, and Tsuna walked in.

"Oh, Ari-chan, Yuki-chan, what are you doing here?" He asked a little surprised.

"Oh, nothing," I responded, as I picked myself up and headed to the door. "I was just leaving."

As I walked out the door, I mulled over what Reborn told me in my head. It was a big responsibility taking care of everybody, but I was the only one who could do it. Reborn was really too perceptive for his own good. I guess that's why he's the number one hitman in the world. It was a big responsibility and I probably should've said no. But I was glad I didn't.

* * *

It was late in the evening on a Tuesday, and Tsuna and Co. were all walking home together, including me and Ari after dinner at TakeSushi. It was a normal night, before things started to take a turn for the…unexpected.

Lambo took out his bazooka because he started crying. (It was technically my fault, because I was going to give him a piece of candy, only for Tsuna to run into me, and make me drop the unwrapped candy on the ground. Lambo immediately started crying, and whipped out his bazooka from his hair as usual.)

That's when things started to malfunction. When Lambo tried to jump into his bazooka, like he's done countless times in the past, it started moving like there was something in it. That resulted in Lambo jumping in the air only to fall on his butt, and the bazooka to come flying towards me.

'Shit, I can't be hit with the bazooka just yet,' I thought, and as I have established; it's my instinct to grab the closest thing near me, and block me.

Apparently the person standing next to me was Ari. So the last thing I saw on her face was a look of pure shock, before the bazooka covered her, and then there were just pink smoke everywhere obstructing our view.

We all waited for the smoke to clear and when it did, all our jaws dropped.

There was Ten Year Ari standing there in the middle of the smoke in all her glory. And when I mean in all her glory I really _mean_ in all her glory. Her clothes, well…her _lack_ of clothes, in this instance made us all raise our eyebrows in confusion. She was brandishing her kunai, wearing just lingerie, and a white dress shirt that just had one button buttoned.

"Oh. It's just you guys." She stated nonchalantly, putting away her weapons.

She turned to survey all of us, and I could see the nostalgia in her eyes, especially when she saw Tsuna starting at her with bug eyes. Then her eyes met mine, and her facial expression grew cold and distant.

"It really has been a while, hasn't it Yuki?"

A/N: Sorry for the long wait you guys! Btw the title has nothing to do with the Taylor Swift song…I just thought it sounded nice. School's been a bitch, and the homework is killing me. I'll try to update every week…ish… Sorry guys, no promises. Anyway…next chapter is the chapter I have been waiting to write forever! Ahhhh I'm so happy I might even do double update…maybe. But it's going to come out soon, cause I'm just so excited to write it. Now I can do my homework without guilt…haha…hahaha…not really- Until next time~


	29. Longest 30 Minutes Of My Life

Target 28: Longest 30 Minutes Of My Life (Ari POV, Future and Present)

A/N: Short little author's note here. This chapter will be in both Ari's POV. And I mean in both 10YL Ari, and present 12 year old Ari.

Warning: This may contains spoilers for the future arc…like some spoilers but not that many.

The bazooka started malfunctioning, and jumping all over the place, like it had a mind of its own. Lambo just started crying louder, and I guess it distracted me, because the next thing I knew, somebody grabbed my wrist and dragged me forward. The bazooka went over my head, and I was falling through a weird looking tunnel. I had never gotten hit by the ten year bazooka before, so this was a totally new experience for me. I just knew that I would switch places with my future self, and I would only do that for five minutes. Those were going to be the longest five minutes of my life. Or thirty.

* * *

 **(Present Ari 10 years in the future)**

Once I reached the end of the tunnel, I found myself in a dark room. I think I was lying on a bed.

'Where the fuck am I?' I thought, as I tried to wriggle out of the bed, but found there was something pretty solid keeping me from moving. I wriggled experimentally again, and found there was something quite _firm_ pressed against my back.

It took me a…er… _few_ moments for my brain to process what was happening.

'Holy shit, someone was spooning me.' It took all my will power to not start hyper ventilating right there. Well at least now I know that in 10 years, I won't be some lonely crazy cat lady. Not that there's anything wrong with cat ladies…but I'm personally more of a dog person.

Now…who the hell is spooning me?

I knew I couldn't just start freaking out, so I took a few calming breaths and assessed my current situation.

I was currently being the little spoon, and the big spoon had one arm lazily draped over my waist, and I felt his other arm under my neck, giving me like an arm pillow. I have to admit, this position was super comfy, and I was tempted to just fall asleep and just wait until I switched back.

But my curiosity won out in the end, and I decided I would rather try to figure out where I was, and who was sleeping with me. Now I just have to figure out how to get out of this position without waking the other person up.

I gingerly removed the arm around my waist, and scooted out off of the bed. Once my feet hit the ground, and I stood up, my feet slipped out from under me. Either I stepped on something slippery or the floor just got waxed. I didn't have time to brace my fall, so I landed on my butt with a huge thud.

Immediately, the room was flooded with lights and my poor eyes were assaulted with brightness. Once my eyes decided to work with me and adjust to the bright lighting, I looked down and gulped. There was the point of a sword being pressed against my throat.

* * *

 **(Future Ari 10 years in the past)**

Ari whipped out her weapons once she felt herself rudely pulled out of her bed. Once she saw familiar clouds of pink smoke, she knew that her past self had just been hit with the Ten Year Bazooka.

'It might be fun to see everybody in their past selves,' Ari mused to herself while she waited for the smoke to clear.

Once it did she was met by the sight of awkward gawking teenage boys. Then she decided to take into account her attire…or lack of one in her case. She was literally just wearing her favorite set of matching mint green lingerie with a large white dress shirt with only one button buttoned.

Ari had grown up well over the years. Her once long wavy silver hair was now cut shoulder length cut with an asymmetrical style. She became taller, leaner, and more mature. Her ice blue eyes that always had that tinge of ignorance and playfulness was replaced by understanding. All those years and she had seen too much, _experienced_ too much, and she could hardly be called innocent now.

She wasn't that little twelve year old girl anymore.

Silently she started buttoning up her shirt, not feeling embarrassed whatsoever. She still needed pants though.

She looked around to survey who to steal pants from and she saw sight of a familiar tiny brunette with wide honey eyes. Immediately, all the memories she compartmentalized in little boxes in her mind, burst open, and she couldn't stop the barrage of memories that flooded in.

"Tsuna give me your pants." She called, and that broke everyone out of their stupor. Seeing the stunned looked on his face, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Oh please. Everyone's already seen you in your boxers multiple times, and I kinda need pants, cause this is kinda awkward. Plus, we all know Reborn carries at least 3 extra pairs of pants for whenever you go into dying will mode."

"I have pants for you," Yamamoto broke in, and rummaged around in the backpack he was holding. "I just came back from baseball practice, so you can wear these."

Ari caught the pants that was thrown to her and gratefully put them on. Even though Ari was 10 years older, Yamamoto was still taller than her by a lot, and the pants were a bit long.

"It's been a while hasn't it Ari?" A voice chimed in, and Ari turned around, knowing whose face she was going to see. And she kind of regretted turning around to look, once familiar purple eyes met hers.

"It really has hasn't it?"

* * *

 **(Present Ari 10 years in the future)**

I gulped nervously as I eyed the point of the sword at my throat. My eyes followed the length of the blade, up the hand and wrist, up the arm and shoulder and neck, and up until my eyes rested on a familiar face. A _very_ familiar face.

"Hi?" I greeted awkwardly after clearing my throat.

"Oh…hi." Was the reply I got from a very very mature looking Yamamoto. That's right… _Yamamoto._ He chuckled sheepishly and removed his katana.

"Sorry…I thought you were people from the Mill-another mafia family," He finished quickly, and I raised my eyebrow.

'So in the future we were at war with any mafia family?' I thought. Before I got a chance to say anything about it, he interrupted.

"Got hit by the ten year bazooka?" He asked, and I nodded. I was still sitting on the floor, and I was apparently sitting on something.

"This is what caused me to fall." I exclaimed holding up a piece of black fabric. "What the hell is this?" I asked in confusion. The fabric was all twisted and turned inside out; I couldn't even tell what it was.

"Well…it was a dress." Yamamoto answered awkwardly. "And it did look very nice on you."

I held up the piece of _fabric_ gawking at it. I would wear this when I was older? Jesus, my mother would kill me if she saw me in this. Now that I kind of re-orientated in into the right shape, I saw that it was a very teensy tiny black body con dress. Ick. Remind future self to stay away from these kinds of dresses.

I looked up and finally noticed the array of clothing strewn haphazardly on the floor.

'Wow,' I thought, 'My ten year self is a slob. I would never do this right now.' Then I looked up at Yamamoto and saw that now he was sitting on the bed, the sheets pooled around his waist, and seemed to accentuate the fact that he was shirtless.

"Do all guys sleep shirtless?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "Go put your shirt on."

He cleared his throat again, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well that's the thing…" He started, not making eye contact with me, "You were kind of wearing it…"

I would be lying if I said it took me just a _few_ seconds to process what he just told me.

"Oh. OH. _Oh_. Oh my…" I realized, and looked away embarrassed.

"Hope I didn't screw anything up for you. Hahahaha…" Yamamoto awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as a nervous habit. "By the way," He broke in, and I was relieved to get away from that topic. "Hasn't it been more than 5 minutes already?"

"Yeah it has…" I said, looking around the room for a clock. "I think it's already been fifteen."

* * *

 **(Back to Future Ari in the past.)**

"It has hasn't it?" Ari asked, her facial expression growing cold and distant. Yuki seemed to understand why she was like this, and gave her a curt nod of acknowledgement, before turning to Tsuna.

"Hasn't it been more than five minutes already?" Yuki asked, and Tsuna looked at his watch.

"You're right, it's been like fifteen." Tsuna replied, a bit confused.

"There must be something wrong with the bazooka," Gokudera muttered, eyeing a sniffling Lambo.

'That's weird,' Ari thought, 'The bazooka rarely malfunctions, and if it does, it's usually because someone has tampered with it. Something big is going to happen…'

A poof of pink smoke engulfed her, and she wondered why she didn't feel regret when she left everybody. That was her time to say goodbye to the people she never got to, but she didn't. Instead she let herself get lost in the pink smoke that looked like cotton candy and tried to convince herself that she did the right thing. But deep down she knew. She knew that she would regret that decision.

But she was okay with that.

Those were the longest thirty minutes of her life.

* * *

Future Omake! (Ft. TYL Ari, and Regular Squalo and Yamamoto.)

Summary: Ari is watching Yamamoto and Squalo spar; she gets hit by the ten year bazooka.

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Lambo was running away from I-pin because she wanted him to share his candy. Obviously he had other ideas. He ran all around until he ran into the room Squalo and Yamamoto was practicing. Ari was also watching them spar. Lambo just had to trip and faceplant into the floor, which sent this bazooka flying towards Ari.

She couldn't react fast enough, so the bazooka covered her, and it fires off the signature pink smoke. Ari was replaced by 10 year Ari, but this time she was wearing clothes. Once she saw Yamamoto and Squalo sparring she got really mad for some reason.

She whipped out her kunai and jumped into the fight.

"You almost made my future hubby gay!" She screamed, as she charged full blast at Squalo. Squalo thought he could handle her, but no. What ten years can do to your fighting style. Plus Ari was pissed, so that had something to do with it.

Yamamoto just backed away from the fight confused, abut laughing. Squalo was in the middle of being tortured by a furious Ari.

"By the way…" Ari started, "What conditioner do you use? Tell me, or I'll cut off your fingers one by one."

"I-I use Shimmer Lights! The one that brightens hair…cause you know how our hair can get brassy and dull." Squalo stammered out, wanting to keep all his fingers on his only hand.

Just at that moment Ari switched back to her regular self, and found Squalo pinned underneath her.

"Oh sorry," She muttered, as she clambered off him. He tried to grab her shoulder, in an attempt to slice her up.

BIG mistake.

She turned around and performed a German Suplex on him. Ryohei popped his head in for a moment to see what all the ruckus was about.

"What a beautiful bridge." He commented, as he looked in, and then walked away.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a little confusing…idk it didn't really turn out how I wanted it to but whatever. So now we know that Ari ends up with Yamamoto. Tell me if any of you guys expected that. But ya…the omake little came out of nowhere but that's okay. We are jumping head first into the future arc you guys! I' m so happy I've made it this far! Anyway…I'm going camping this week with no wifi so I don't think I can update another chapter. Love everybody who read! Until next time~


	30. If I Die Young

Short A/N: This chapter is set six years in the future, so everyone is around their early 20s. I would presume they have the Vongola base already and all that jazz. This chapter is also kina based on the song If I Die Young by Perry. If you haven't heard it go listen to it…like now. I promise it will be stuck in your head like it is in mine. Read and Review? Enjoy!

Target 29: If I Die Young (Future Extra)

She looked up at the stars and silently took a huge swig of vodka straight from the bottle and sighed. It wouldn't be long until the doctor would ban her from anything alcoholic or any food really. He claimed that it was making her health deteriorate faster than it already was, but of course she kept on drinking.

When she was little she never got why people drank. If they gave her a taste of alcohol she would scrunch up her nose and try to swallow the vile tasting liquid. The adults would laugh at the face she made and tell her that in time she would learn to love it.

Now she understood. She liked the burn of the alcohol as it went down, making her feel warmer, and making her forget. Forget everything she wanted to. But everything has a drawback, and she would wake up the next morning feeling like shit, and everybody would scold her endlessly.

"The doctor says that the alcohol is damaging your already screwed up liver!"

"Do you want to die sooner stupid?"

"You really shouldn't drink. Even if you were healthy it's still bad for you."

'Yeah.' She thought, 'Even if I was healthy.'

* * *

The weeks ticked by slowly, and her health went along with it. Doctor's couldn't figure out what was wrong with her; even if they did, they could do nothing for her except jack her up on drugs to _try_ and dull the pain. Not that she cared anyway. There was a point where she was about to give up completely, until someone decided to smack some sense into her. After a full blown argument, (well…she really didn't have the strength to argue, so it mostly consisted of the other person screaming at her, with her occasionally throwing out a witty cynical remark.)

Once she had decided that she did have something to live for, she tried on getting better. And it worked. For a few days. Then it all came crashing down on her again. Everyone was so excited to here of her getting better, but then one day she relapsed.

* * *

She finally gained enough strength to leave her hospital bed, so she wanted to go outside for the first time in weeks. She was still a little pale and sickly, but the doctor advised that going outside might help her some. But she knew the real reason why the doctor was complying with all her absurd requests.

To put it simply she was dying, and everyone was doing everything they could to make her happy.

She breathed in the warm musty spring air. It smelled of wild flowers and rain and grass. She was sitting on her favorite spot, under the shade of a big oak tree. Until she found this safe haven, she thought that a place like this could only exist in her dreams. But it was he who showed this to her.

When she was still well, they would go to this little hill overlooking endless fields of grass and wildflowers, and have picnics, or just sit their sipping tea. Of course it had to be him who she went with to visit this spot for maybe the last time.

"This would be such a peaceful place to get buried wouldn't it?" She asked him, looking out at the setting sun. He didn't respond, so she kept talking.

"I think I would want my final resting place to be here." She decided, "I wouldn't to be in a cemetery with a bunch of dead people. The atmosphere there is just so cold and dreary, don't c'ha think? If someone were to visit me, I'd like for them to visit a happy place. I'd like for them to smile when they remember me."

After saying that, she promptly fainted, and had to be carried back to the hospital. Her bone marrow seemed to take a lot of damage, and the doctors thought she contracted something that was targeting bone marrow. She had to have a transfusion of red blood platelets, and that seemed to make her live for a little longer.

Then after two more weeks, she had to have a liver transplant. How she managed to get a donor that fast, she had no idea, but with the connections the Vongola had anything was possible.

Well everything except her survival.

* * *

Then it finally reached that stage in her sickness where she could feel her body dying on her. Now she was stuck in a bed with tons of medicine being pumped into her by the minute; the doctors' futile attempt at trying at trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

But how can one be truly comfortable with the thought of dying? Sure it's scary, but she had come to terms that she was going to die young. NO chance to grow old with the person she loved, start a family, do something in life. And when she had finally come to that epiphany, she just broke down and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. Asking over and over, why me? Why does to be me?

And then when he visited her in the middle of one of her breakdowns, he calmed her, and made her stop crying.

Apparently crying takes a lot of energy, because once she was done, she was barely hanging on to consciousness.

In her sleepy stupor, she asked him a question.

"Why do people have to die young?" Her breath was already evening out, and her chest was rising and falling rhythmically.

"In a garden what flowers do you pick?" He asked her back, and could see the confusion in her drooping eyes.

"The prettiest and healthiest ones why?" She replied, trying to clear the haze from her eyes and mind.

"It's the same," He answered, looking back at her now sleeping from on the bed.

"Someone picks the prettiest ones to die first, just like the flowers."

* * *

A few more days passed, and her health just plummeted. One day she was sitting up in her bed cracking witty remarks, and the next she could barely stay awake much less talk.

"A few days max." The doctor had told everyone, seeing everybody's worried faces. "If you want to say your goodbyes, say them now." He then left everyone in silence, letting everybody crowd around her bed in the little hospital room.

Her eyes fluttered open, and everybody bombarded her with questions on her welfare.

"I feel awesome." She joked, "Can you tell the doctor to jack up the morphine, and then I'll feel even better."

Seeing all her friends watery eyes, and sleep deprived faces she tsked.

"You guys, I'd rather have you guys remember me and smile. It's better to forget than to just remember me and cry."

Her best friend let out a shaky laugh, as she grabbed her cold pale hand.

"Please don't tell me you made that up yourself…the corn is real."

"Oh please, of course I didn't make that up. That was Dr. Seuss. But seriously guys get ready for another toe curling corny statement. If love could've cured me, I think I would've been able to live forever. And it's all cause of you guys. So just remember that when I'm gone."

And of course when she said that, it sparked the argument of, 'You are not going to die, stop saying or thinking that,' And her replying with, 'I can't live any longer than I already have. But I have no regrets.' All the friends continued to argue and it was escalating before she couldn't hold it in anymore.

She laughed. She laughed like she hadn't had in ages. It was a true laugh from the heart; a nice sound to hear. She laughed and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks, and her blood pressure spiked.

"Glad to know that you guys still love me enough to argue with me on my death bed." She wheezed out in between gasps for breath.

Everyone looked at each other and laughed and she burned that memory into her mind. Everybody laughing, everyone happy, everyone smiling. And now she knew that she could go peacefully now.

People starting leaving one by one with the promise of visiting her again tomorrow. Only she knew that she couldn't keep that promise. Well…her and another person. He lingered in her room a little longer.

* * *

Right as he left the room, he heard a flat line as nurses and doctors rushed past him into her room. He continued walking straight; without looking back, shoulders square, head held up, and hands slightly shaking.

* * *

Her funeral had gone as planned. None of her family showed up, not that she expected them to anyway.

"They don't care about me alive, so why would they care about me dead?" She once asked. "They're probably relieved I'm dying."

People said their words of consolation to her closest friends, who had become her family. Eulogies were spoken, tears were shed, and there was a whole lot of reminiscing. Her best friend had written a funny eulogy that managed to get a few shaky laughs from the crowd in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

In the middle, she forgot about the tears streaming down her own cheeks, and continued talking. Continued talking until all her words of regret were said, and she folded her paper with shaky hands, and got off the podium into waiting arms.

'I'm loving, living, and breathing,' She thought as her fiancé was comforting her. 'All the things that _she_ can't do anymore. I guess I'll have to live for the both of us now.'

* * *

Her casket was a beautiful thing, ironic because it was holding her dead body. It was a $40,000 and entirely plated in 24-carat gold. It was lined with white velvet, and her head was resting on a little white satin pillow. After everyone threw their roses in, and paid their respects, her coffin was slowly dropped into the ground. Once it hit the bottom, the guests went along, throwing all the flowers from the arrangements into the pit on top of her casket; the gloves that the pall-bearers wore were thrown in also. Then the vault lid, which was made out of solid white marble, was dropped over her coffin, and then the dirt was slowly thrown over again.

Once it was all down, and they placed some grass seeds over, her gravestone was placed at the head.

Her epitaph read:

 _Gone is the face we loved so dear_

 _Silent the voice we loved to hear_

 _Gone from our sight_

 _But never from our hearts_

 _In Loving Memory Of_

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A/N: I debated long and hard whether to put the name or not but I decided against it. Sorry if it was kinda confusing cause there were a lot of she pronouns and stuff. Anyone wanna guess who died and how she died? No? Ok…but we are jumping head first into the future arc so look forward to it! I'm so excited. Honestly we'll probably find out who died in the next chapter. XP Love ya lots! Until next time~


	31. Adieu

Target 30: Adieu (Ari POV)

I woke up with a groan and felt around for my phone. When I finally found it, I turned it on and checked the time and date. Ew…it was 6:26 AM, September 11.

The day I was leaving Japan and heading back to Canada. The day I have been dreading since I got here. My exchange had been extended, only for a week longer though, as my father wanted me home promptly. My mother on the other hand was a lot easier to convince, and she knew that I wanted to stay longer.

 _A lot longer._

I was beginning to regret my decision of not telling anybody about my departure besides Yuki and Reborn. In my mind, at the time, it had seemed easier to just leave without telling anyone because I would leave in the middle of the school day. I think Tou-san planned that out on purpose.

Tiredly, I dragged myself out of bed and took out my suitcase and began throwing all my shit into it. I heard a knock on my door, and the next second Maman poked her head in. I hurriedly hid the clothes I was holding behind my back and tried to step in front of the suitcase to try and cover it.

"Oh, Ari-chan, since you didn't come down for breakfast I thought you were still sleeping." She said, and then she looked at the state of my room and my suitcase.

"Going somewhere?" She inquired hesitantly, and I gulped. I totally forgot I had to tell Maman.

Well here I go. I took a deep breath and explained to her that I was leaving today and that I didn't tell anybody. She listened to my rambling patiently, and after I was done she made her way over to my bed, and started folding the clothes on it.

"You could've told me you know?" Maman stated in a light reprimanding tone. I caught the underlying tone of slight disappointment though. "I'm your host mother. I have a right to know…" She murmured, more to herself. I sighed. Reborn was in charge of mostly everything for my exchange program, so Maman had been out of the loop for most of it, I guess.

"I'm sorry; I just thought it would be easier if I left without saying anything." I confessed, slumping down onto my bed and burying my head in my arms.

"It's ok," Maman soothed, her hand caressing my back calmingly.

"But I don't wanna go." I whined, but it came out a bit muffled.

"I know sweetie I know, but we all knew that you had to go sometime. I'm pretty sure everybody forgot that you weren't from here." Maman replied cheerfully, and I raised my head.

"I don't want to go," I whispered again quietly, and Maman embraced me tightly.

 _I don't want to go. Ever_

* * *

Maman helped me packed the rest of my stuff, and I heard Tsuna yell that he was leaving for school.

"Where's Ari-chan?" I heard him ask Maman outside my door.

"Oh, she isn't feeling all that well, so she's staying home today." Maman smoothly said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Little did I know that Reborn was there hatching an evil plan in his brain.

After I finished shoving most of my stuff into my suitcase, I sighed and looked around my room. The room I called home for three months, give or take. I had been in the process of personalizing it, adding pictures and making it cuter in general. I scanned the wall where I put all my pictures and laughed when I looked at each one. Apparently Reborn had a knack for taking pictures with his Leon camera, and a lot of them were good shots.

I organized the pictures in chronological order so the first one was of Tsuna standing in his boxers greeting me at the train station. The look on my face was the most hilarious thing ever. It was like an 'oh shit, what did I get myself into,' face, and I was kind of slinking back away from him.

Then next picture was of me sleeping on the floor (why was I sleeping on the floor again?) in Tsuna's room. Everybody was in the picture taking a selfie trying not to wake me up. Then the next picture right after that was Yamamoto carrying my bridal style back to my room with Yuki cooing like a mother. The pictures continued on from there; one was of the retreat (which I would rather not remember) but it was all of us lined up on the log with Yuki and Tsuna blindfolded, and Yuki was grabbing my ass in an attempt to try and not fall off. There was also one we took at the beach and the summer festival. The last one I had that was printed out was a picture of all of us at the Vongola Gala, all dressed up and fancy looking.

I looked at each picture fondly before taking them down, one by one. I would make sure to put these in my room once I got back home. I looked at the clock again, and it was already 9:45.

'Two hours and I'll be gone,' I thought sadly, as I looked back in my room again. I didn't have to be at the airport until 11 because I didn't need to go through security or anything. Perks of having a private jet right?

* * *

 **We is switching to Tsuna POV!**

Tsuna knew something was wrong when he woke up and his hyper intuition was ringing alarm bells in his head. He tried to shake the uneasy feeling when he was walking to school, but it was still nagging him as he walked to Nami-Chuu with Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Yuki.

Ari wasn't walking with them because Maman said she wasn't feeling well, but Tsuna knew something was off. He just didn't know what it was, and it was starting to freak him out.

Yuki seemed to sense his uneasiness because she shot him a reassuring smile, and told him everything would be ok. Tsuna still didn't feel any better when he was sitting in his classroom, totally not focusing on what the teacher was saying. As if he ever listened anyway-

The last thing he thought, before seeing black, was that he wanted to see Ari. He didn't see Reborn shoot him with a dying will bullet.

Reborn smirked as Yuki gave him a knowing smile and Leon turned back into his original form.

"Go Dame-Tsuna. Go and say goodbye with your dying will."

* * *

I sighed and looked at the clock for the nth time. It didn't matter how hard I stared the seconds kept on ticking by when I wanted time to stop. _Tick, tick,_ that agonizing sound was going to drive me crazy. I was already at the airport courtesy of Maman, and I was waiting on the arrival of my aircraft. Apparently they were running a little behind schedule because there was some storm of in the middle of nowhere and they had to fly around it.

"Miss, your plane has been cleared for landing. It's going to be on the runway in a few minutes. You should gather your stuff now." The receptionist informed me, and I nodded.

"Right, thank you." I nodded, and gathered all my bags. I made my way out the airport onto the tarmac and waited for the plane to pull up.

"SAY GOODBYE WITH MY DYING WILL!" I heard somebody scream, and I whipped my head around, knowing who it was. I saw a familiar blur running toward me, and I couldn't help but smile. Everybody was staring and some people were trying to stop him, but no one could stop Tsuna now.

He stopped short before he ran over, and I couldn't stop the déjà vu from slapping me in the face.

"Um Ari-chan why am I here?" He asked me, once the flame dyed on his forehead, and he blinked in confusion. I just tackled him in a hug, and couldn't help stop the tears.

"Ari-chan, are we at an airport?" He asked me again, but when I didn't reply he seemed to get why we were standing on an airport tarmac with a jet landing in a few seconds.

"You were really going to leave without telling anybody?" He asked me, and I looked up and saw his eyes full of disappointment and hurt.

"I'm sorry…I just couldn't bring myself to say goodbye. I thought I would just leave and it wouldn't hurt as much. But I guess that didn't work."

"Of course it didn't," A new voice broke in, and I felt a familiar arm sling itself around my shoulder. For the first time I didn't flinch or feel uncomfortable.

"What are you doing yakyu-baka? Don't touch the girl that made Juudaime so upset. She is a disgrace to the Vongola family." Gokudera scoffed, and Yamamoto looked at him.

Soon everyone came; Lambo, I-Pin, Fuuta, Bianchi, Maman, and Shamal. Yuki ran up a few minute later puffing and out of breath.

"You owe me big time," She managed to puff out in between gasps. "I managed to gather everyone in like a few minutes. You don't know how freaking hard it was. Lambo was especially hard to get to come. And I couldn't find Reborn, ever since he got hit by the ten year bazooka." She gave a rather pointed glare at Lambo, but he was too busy running away from I-Pin to notice. Then he tripped and faceplanted into the asphalt. He started crying, and his bazooka came flying out of his hair over to Yuki. Since no one was near her, Yuki couldn't grab anyone to block her. Her eyes grew big, and just as the bazooka flew over her head, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The pink smoke cleared, but 10 year Yuki wasn't standing there.

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked, after Yuki was nowhere to be seen.

Just then my jet landed on the runway and taxied up to us. The stairs opened and the flight attendant came out, heading over to where my luggage was.

"I'm sorry guys, but my jet's here, and I really have to go. I'll miss you guys so much, and I'll write letters, and we all have Line right?" I blabbered. Everyone was just looking at me with such sad eyes.

I turned around and followed the attendant up the stairs. Once I reached the top, I turned around facing everybody.

"Goodbye" I said, with a said bitter smile. With a sad wave of my hand I turned around.

"I'm sorry," I heard someone say, causing me to slightly turn around in confusion. I saw the purple bazooka fly over my head, and wasn't even able to blink before the bazooka engulfed me, and I found myself in a familiar tunnel.

I closed my eyes.

"Adieu."

A/N: Happy late birthday Gokudera please don't hurt me! I was going to post this on his birthday, but it was also my mother's birthday and we went out to eat dinner. Anyway…hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and we are starting the future arc! Finally! I'm so excited, and hope you guys are too! Quick French lesson right now. Since Ari speaks French, adieu means goodbye in French. But it literally means, 'to God,' so adieu is only used when saying goodbye to someone you will never see again, because it means you will see them again in heaven. Just thought you guys might want to know that. Also thanks to Miki Rukia for posting such a funny review. My sister and I cracked up so much after reading it. ~Until next time my lovelies!


	32. Back To The Future

Target 31: Back To The Future (Yuki POV)

'I just had to let myself get hit by the ten year bazooka huh?' I berated myself in my head, as I felt myself falling through a swirly psychedelic purple tunnel. After a few more moments of falling I reached the end of the tunnel and all was dark.

I think I was lying down inside of something, and it was really dark and kinda cold. My head was resting on a pillow, and I started feeling around.

So it was obvious that I was in a coffin, and I guess the crunchy dried things that I was surrounded by were flowers. Well…dead flowers, but they were more like dust now.

Now I just had to find a way to get out of here. Problem is I was buried six feet under the ground, and had a limited amount of oxygen. I guess this is what it feels like to be buried alive, which is totally ironic because I was once buried here...dead.

* * *

 **10 year later Ari (Third Person POV)**

Today was Yuki's 4th year death anniversary and everyone was going to visit her grave. Everyone went separately though; everyone wanted to go by themselves to allow a little privacy. It was Ari's turn, and she walked down the hill to the little white marble gravestone resting at the base of the hill, looking toward the sunset. Her fiancé of a year, Yamamoto was going to come once the sun started to set, meaning that she had about an hour by herself.

She laughed bitterly in front of Yuki's grave.

"We had a bet who could get engaged the fastest," She reminisced, not really talking to anybody but herself. Not that Yuki could hear her anyway. "I would've won, and you would've had to pay for my wedding dress. Not that you can anyway." Ari suddenly found herself getting madder and madder. "Not that you can even make it to my wedding." She knew it was irrational to start yelling at a dead person, but she just had so much pent up emotions over the four years that she bottled up. "I'm here today cause you couldn't fucking stay alive. But why? I saw how much you wanted to live, and how much you had to live for. And you just threw that all away by kicking the bucket. Didn't you know how much you were loved? Didn't you care at all? Of course you didn't. I haven't forgiven you. I don't think I ever will. Happy four years dead, bitch."

But some part of Ari refused to acknowledge that Yuki was dead. When she was still alive, Ari knew that Yuki's worst fear was to be forgotten, as narcissistic as that seemed back then.

They were still young; Yuki barely twenty, and she almost 19, and they were sitting together looking out over the big hill. Yuki was now buried at the foot of the hill. It was her favorite place.

"Promise me you'll never forget me?" She asked, in a small quiet voice.

Ari snorted, "As if I could ever forget someone as annoying as you. Why are you even asking me that?"

Yuki stayed quiet and looked up at the stars.

"Because one day I'll be forgotten, not even a part of anyone's memory. And that scares me."

"Geez Yuki, you know how self-centered that sounds?" Ari joked, but one look at Yuki's face, and she knew she wasn't joking.

"No one going to forget you." Ari reassured her, "And that's a fact."

Ari dissolved into tears remembering the last heart-felt conversation they had. Ari blamed herself too. How could she have missed Yuki's desperation? She was the last person to talk to her before she fell sick. Surely she could've done something. When Yuki fell ill she was suffering, with the doctors doing everything they could to help her. But not enough. Yuki somehow got a doctor to euthanize her, and the day they all came to visit her, the doctor announced that Yuki had passed away in her sleep.

But Ari knew better. With a little research Ari found out that Yuki had convinced the doctor to assist her suicide. She was in so much pain; she just didn't want to live anymore. Apparently, once Yuki found out that she was sick with some kind of terminal illness, she had a doctor slowly poison her, to try and make it seem that the disease was slowly killing her. Ari was pretty sure Yuki thought that she was doing everyone a favor by ending her life, but instead she just hurt a lot more people once the truth got out.

Sometimes Ari still thinks that she'll wake up one day in Yamamoto's arms, and hear Yuki's infectious laugh outside her door telling her to get up. It was always Ari that was the morning person, so when Yuki got up before her, something was definitely happening.

"It's my biiirrtttthhhddaaayyyy!" Yuki would scream sing, and parade around, wearing her newest Louboutins. It was tradition to buy Yuki a pair of Louboutins for her birthday. Everyone would pool their own money together and buy her a pair, a tradition that started ever since Yuki turned 17.

But Ari would wake up in Yamamoto's arms, and it would be Yuki's birthday, but there would be no Yuki outside her door waking her up. This year they did buy her Louboutins (it would just feel wrong to suddenly stop the thing they've been doing since forever) and brought them to her grave.

"I hope you like them," Tsuna said shyly, placing the un-opened box on top of her grave.

"I know you've always liked them, and I miss the look of pure joy on your face whenever you would open the box." Yamamoto added, giving Ari's hand an especially tight squeeze.

"At least you'll look hot in heaven." Ari joked, and everyone burst out laughing.

Now there were four boxes of Louboutins on her grave, one for each year that her birthday passed. The sun was already setting, and Ari realized how much time she had spent stuck reminiscing about memories, and Yamamoto was watching her from afar.

"How long have you been standing there?" Ari asked, brushing herself off, not that she remembered when she sat down anyway.

"I've only been for a few minutes. It looked like you were thinking about something, so I didn't disturb you. You had that cute thinking face on, where you would furrow your eyebrows, and chew on your lip. Yuki always said that you would get wrinkles if you made that face too often. I also brought Kana." Yamamoto laughed, making his way next to Ari, and looping his arm around her shoulders; drawing her close. Ari had become desensitized to whenever people touched her shoulders now, and she wouldn't flinch anymore. Kana ran around a few times before sitting on top of Yuki's grave and giving a long heart-wrenching howl.

"You'd think that Kana knows that Yuki's been dead for four years already." Yamamoto smiled, rubbing Kana in between the ears, right where Yuki always used to pet him.

"Oh, please," Ari snorted, "Kana was Yuki's baby. I swear that girl liked her dog more than she liked us."

They made their way up the hill to watch the sun set, and just enjoy each other's company. Kana was dozing off at their feet, head resting on his front paws, eyes looking longingly down at the grave down the hill.

"It's been four years already." Yamamoto said, pulling Ari's back closer to his chest.

"Yeah, and it hasn't been any easier."

* * *

 **Back to Present Yuki POV**

I started feeling around the coffin, trying to find something to help me get out of there. I'm pretty sure I felt some papers, a lot of dried flowers, shoes, and a cold small object.

I felt it some more, and found there was like three little ridges on it. It felt vaguely familiar, and I knew that I had held this at one point in my life before.

'It's a dog whistle!' I thought, even though I didn't have a dog. I'm pretty sure I had a dog in the future though.

'Ok, I know that dog whistles are typically silent, so humans can't hear them. So if I blow it, I have to hope a dog is around here somewhere. Think Yuki think. If I were to come up with a dog whistle combination what would it be?' I held the whistle up to my lips and blew two short blasts, and then one long one. I don't think anything happened, so I blew one long blast and two short ones.

Nothing happened again, and I was about to accept my fate that I would die where I was once buried, but heard a sound. It sounded like paws scratching against wood.

'Wow, my dog must be a freaking super dog to have dug a six foot hole in that amount of time.' I thought, before I heard some gnawing sounds, and then a dull crunching sound. I pressed the palms of my hands against the lid and pushed hoping it would open.

And it did.

Immediately I was pounced on by a white furry blur that was absolutely suffocating me with doggy kisses.

"Hi, I've never seen you before, but you're such a cutie." I cooed, rubbing his (don't ask me how I know, I just do) face, and right in between his ears.

"Is your name Kana?" I asked him, and was surprised when he seemed to react to that name. I knew that if I ever had a dog I would name it Kana, boy or girl. I guess I actually did do that.

He was a beautiful dog, pure white, with coal black eyes. I thought he was a wolf or an American Shepherd or something, but he was huge. He easily jumped out of the hole while I had to climb out. Once I did I sucked in my breath, and surveyed my surroundings.

It was absolutely beautiful. The sun was setting, and I was standing on a great big expanse of grass and wildflowers. A place that looked weirdly familiar. I continued looking around, until I saw a hill with a familiar oak tree on top of it. Kana happily ran up the hill, and I could faintly hear snippets of talking, but couldn't make out any words.

'This was where Seralyn visited me,' I finally thought, and I could make out a figure on top of the hill. I walked a little closer, careful to keep quiet, because if it was somebody I knew I didn't want to give anyone a heart attack by suddenly becoming alive again.

All I could see was the silhouette because of the lightening. But once I inched closer, I realized it was two people…and one was sitting in between the other one's legs, back to front style.

'Awwww…that's super cute.' I cooed, not knowing who it was. I slowly started inching even closer.

Once I was about halfway up the hill, I could kind of see their outlines better but not their faces. I could see the one in front was a girl, with her back pressed against the guy's chest, and his legs on either side of her. They seemed pretty content and happy; I wondered if they knew that it was my grave. I was going to approach them quietly and then pretend that I was lost, but then I saw the girl turn around. Their lips were millimeters apart before I decided to do something about it. They were totally disrespecting my grave. Even though I wasn't dead anymore, still…people can't just desecrate the dead…that have come back to life.

I let their lips barely touch before I sprang action.

"AW HELL NAH, Y'ALL WERE GON' GET FREAKY ON MA GRAVE?!"

I watched in satisfaction, as they wrenched themselves apart, looking around for the source of the voice. Then I saw a familiar pink puff of smoke and cocked my head in confusion.

I heard a wild yell, before the girl reached for the guy's wrist; I think it was on her shoulder, before judo flipping him off the hill…toward me. Once I saw that judo flip, I immediately knew that it was Ari, and Yamamoto was rolling down the hill toward me. I didn't have time to jump out of the way or dodge, so I ended up getting tackled by Yam, and started rolling down the hill with him. Once we finally reached the foot of the hill, I somehow managed to land on top of him, and I saw his eyes widen in disbelief. His arms shot out from under me, and wrapped around my body, drawing me in bone crushing hug.

"It's really you, you're really alive." He murmured into my hair.

"Yes," I wheezed, "And if you don't let go I might go back to being dead." Sheepishly he let go of me, and let me stand. We both looked back up the hill to a very confused Ari.

"What the fuck just happened?" She asked, making her way down the hill.

"It seems we're back in the future."

A/N: It's been so long since I did a double update, but I just couldn't wait to publish this chapter. I was that excited….ya. So it is officially the start of the future arc, and if any of you got confused by the switching POVs sorry. But I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter, and by the way, this is before Tsuna's in the future so ya. Just so you know. Read and review? Yes? No? Haha tell me what you guys think! ~Until next time! (And I finally figured out how to put line breaks! YAY!)


	33. The World 10 Years Later

Target 32: The World 10 Years Later (Ari POV)

"It seems we're back in the future." Yuki concluded, looking around.

I just stood there staring dumbly at her.

"Did you just say that to make some kind of reference? Because that made no sense whatsoever." I admitted, titling my head to the side in confusion.

Yuki snorted, "As much as I liked that movie, it seems that we really are back in the future."

"But why would you say that Yuki?" 10YL Yamamoto asked her; he still looked like he was in a state of shock. "I know Ari has visited the future, but I don't think you have."

"And that's where things get a lot more complicated," Yuki sighed. "Let's go back to the Vongola base before I explain it to everyone. I'm pretty sure there are some people who can't wait to see me."

"Why would anyone want to see you?" I asked her, rolling my eyes.

"Of course they would want to see me cause I'm dead in the future. Duh." Yuki deadpanned, and I raised an eyebrow, but decided to just stop asking her things. Because her answers would just make me even more confused.

"Wait…" Yamamoto started, "How do you know we have a Vongola base?" Yuki just smiled at him, and he shook his head laughing. "You know what? After all these years I think it's better if I just stop asking you questions."

"Good choice my friend, good choice," Yuki laughed, as she walked ahead of us. "Follow me!"

After taking a few steps she stopped in her tracks. "Actually….Yam, I think you should show the way. I might know a lot of things, but I still don't know where the base is." She confessed with a sheepish grin.

"Sure thing Yuki." Yamamoto laughed, and they fell into step, with me trailing a little bit behind them.

"Guys," I broke in, getting their attention. "Hasn't it been more than five minutes?" Yamamoto and Yuki just looked at each other.

"Another thing I'll explain," Yuki finally admitted. "But it's not safe here, let's go back.

* * *

We started walking back towards where I presumed the Vongola base would be. The sun already had set, and the sky was a light blue color. It was dark, but not too dark to not see where I was going.

"In here." Yamamoto beckoned, and we followed him into a thick forest. Suddenly he stopped, and I would've bumped into his back if Yuki didn't stop me.

"What's-," I was about to ask, but got shushed by both Yuki and Yam. They stayed silent for a little longer before Yamamotobroke the silence.

"I hear something. I think it's the external advisors I'm supposed to pick up," He whispered. "We are really close to the hideout. Just follow this path, continue north, hang a right, then continue east, and you should reach the entrance. You can't get in without me, so just wait until I come and get you. You guys should be relatively safe over there. Okay?"

Yuki and I nodded, and when we reached a fork, he turned left while we turned right.

"He just said to keep walking right?" Yuki whispered uncertain.

"Yes, now shut up so I can concentrate." I hissed back. I really did not want to get lost in this forest. "Wait...why are we whispering?"

After walking for a few more minutes we didn't see the entrance he described.

"Hey, let's just follow our footsteps back. We'll just wait at that fork kay?" Yuki asked nervously pulling on my sleeve.

"Fine," I grunted, turning around, not wanting to admit that I maybe got us lost. We followed the path back where we began, and when we hit the fork we decided to turn left to see if we could find Yam.

I heard faints sounds of yelling, and Yuki and I looked at each other. As silently as we could, we started running towards the sounds of the voices. Once we reached a clearing, we were behind this huge machine thing, with a person in a cloak standing on a rock.

We looked at each, at the machine, and then back at each other in confusion. Suddenly we heard a rustling in the bushes, and we instinctively pulled out our weapons; Yuki her gun, and me my kunai. A dark blur jumped over us out of the trees, and hit the machine things with one strike. The strike seemed to generate a shockwave that pushed me and Yuki a few steps back.

"A shockwave…?" I heard the person on the rock ask.

"Attaco di Squalo. This should buy us a minute." The mysterious person announced. Form behind the rock Yuki and I could see the familiar tips of spiky brunette hair, and also the top of a silver head.

"Help has arrived," Yamamoto said cheekily with a grin, and I could hear Tsuna and Gokudera gasp. Then he turned to look at us.

"Didn't I tell you guys to wait for me at the entrance of the hideout?" He asked us, worry laced in his voice.

"Haha…haha…about that…Yeah, we kinda got lost…" Yuki muttered sheepishly, and Yamamoto laughed.

"You still have no sense of direction huh?" He grinned, and Yuki nodded.

"Could you be…?" Somebody asked, and we all turned our heads to look at Gokudera and Tsuna who emerged from their hiding place.

"Y-Yamamoto," Tsuna stuttered, looking up at him in awe.

"Huh? This isn't some kind of bad joke is it?" He asked, looking at Tsuna. "I came to get the agents, but you guys are here too. But you've shrunk…an illusion? Or maybe a ghost?" he asked, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

Everybody sweat dropped at that moment.

"Ummm…Yam?" Yuki called to get his attention. "Ten Year Bazooka remember?" She reminded him, while sighing.

"Ahhh…I panicked for a second there. No wonder." Yamamoto laughed. "You seem well, Tsuna."

"U-uh, yeah…" Tsuna nodded, and I could see Gokudera stiffen a tad.

"Anyway, let's go!" Yamamoto called over his shoulder as he started walking toward the hideout. Then Tsuna and Gokudera saw us.

"Y-yuki-chan, A-ari-chan, you guys are here too?!" Tsuna asked in surprise, while Gokudera just tsked.

"Hello to you too, Gokudera." I snorted, sarcastically. "How was your trip to the future? Was it as weird as mine was?"

Gokudera grew stiff again, and his eyes narrowed slightly. I think I hit a sore spot.

"I don't think anything's weirder than mine." Tsuna broke in, "When I came here I woke up in a coffin." Everybody stiffened, but Tsuna didn't seem to notice.

"Really?" Yuki asked, her voice dripping with false excitement. "Saaaame. Twinsies!" Everybody just looked at her like she was crazy, but I'm pretty sure she read the tense atmosphere and decided to make it more lighthearted again.

* * *

The conversation was light from then on, and then the lady that was walking with us interrupted.

"Aren't we going to run?" She asked, "If we walk, it'll take us till morning."

"Sorry," Yamamoto apologized, "The information you have on the hideout is fake. We are actually almost there."

Then he pulled out a box and inserted his ring into it. Immediately it started pouring, and we could barely see anything.

"Over here!" We heard Yam's voice say, and we walked over to where he was.

"Wow!" Tsuna exclaimed, "The hideout s underground?"

"Yup. There are six entrances like this." Yamamoto answered, as we walked down the stairs. I have to admit, it was pretty cool and futuristic looking. Once we reached the end of the tunnel, Yam pressed his hand on the palm scanner and the door opened. We walked into an elevator he decided to give us some info.

"This was under construction as a vital Vongola stronghold." He started as the elevator was going up. Then when the elevator said B05, it dinged, and the doors opened. Tsuna's and Gokudera's eyes opened wide as they gasped.

"Only 60% is complete right now." He informed us, and I was surprised. This thing must be freaking huge then.

"W-Wow!" Tsuna declared, "Vongola can make something like this?"

Yuki started laughing and Yamamoto joined in.

"I'll tell you something good." Yuki smirked, "You had them build it Tsuna."

Tsuna's jaw dropped, and Yamamoto looked at her in confusion.

"How do you-" He started but then shook his head, chuckling. "After all these years, and you still haven't told me how you know these things."

We continued walking down the hallway, until we came to a strange looking thing.

"Oi, what's that strange looking device?" The woman asked, as we approached a doorway that had purple lasers across it horizontally.

"The mechanic, Giannini, built it," He told us, as we stopped. "It's a barrier that prevents some type of substance from coming in."

Seeing Tsuna's apprehension Yamamoto went through first.

"It's fine see? Come through already."

"A-All right," Tsuna agreed hesitantly as he stepped through it. Gokudera went next and then I went. I felt totally fine.

Then the woman who went with us, I think she told us her name was Lal, went through. I can't really say that she had the same results as me. Her eyes widened in pain, as she made a noise and fell to the floor; passed out cold.

"Hey! What's the matter?" Gokudera asked, getting on one knee to check her.

"Shit," Yamamoto cursed, "Sorry, I didn't notice." Yamamoto apologized, as he got down on one knee next to Lal.

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked frantically, "Why is she the only one that-" He stopped mid sentence as Yuki went through, and passed out right next to Lal.

"The fuck?" I asked, looking at their unconscious bodies.

"Not to worry." He reassured us. "Their bodies are just in shock from the sudden change of environment."

He casually slung Lal over his left shoulder and Yuki over his right; like a sack of potatoes.

"Hey…" Tsuna hesitated, "Are they really alright?"

"They'll wake up in a bit," Yamamoto informed him, as he continued walking down the corridor.

"We're here." Yam said, as we reached a door. He pushed the door open, and we all filed in.

"You're late," A high-pitched baby voice informed us, and Tsuna looked like he was about to cry. There was Reborn, causally sitting in an armchair. I guess he didn't know how worried Tsuna had been over him disappearance

"Ciaossu!"

Tsuna just stood there gawking for a few more seconds before he managed to stutter out a shaky, 'Reborn.'

"Hug me." Reborn commanded, "I'm right here." And Reborn landed a flying kick to the back of Tsuna's head. If someone could win the award for messing up a touching, heartfelt reunion in the worst way possible, Reborn would've swept the competition away.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Tsuna cried, grabbing the back of his head, while hunched over on his knees, with Gokudera hovering over him like an over-protective mother.

"My toes fit perfectly in the back of your head." Reborn congratulated, and Tsuna looked at him with the animated waterfall tears streaming out of his eyes.

"What's with this messed up reunion?" He wailed. "I was looking all over for you! And, you're in a weird outfit again!"

I could totally agree with Tsuna, Reborn was wearing some kind of white wetsuit, like the kind scuba divers wear; the skin tight ones that go over your head, but don't cover your face.

"I can't help it." Reborn informed Tsuna. "If I don't wear this, my body gets sick. And I had that barrier made for me too." While Reborn was saying that, Yamamoto put Lal on one couch, and covered her with a blanket. Then he put Yuki on the other couch, and also covered her in blanket.

"What do you mean?" Tsuna questioned, and Reborn jumped back on the armchair.

"I mean, it's a harsh world out there for me."

"There you go talking about weird things again," Tsuna sighed, "Oh yeah, something's wrong, we can't go back to the past."

'Now you finally address that problem,' I mentally facepalmed, but held my tongue.

"I know that," Reborn admitted, "And that's not the only weird thing. Instead of going 10 years in the future we only went 9 years and 10 months.

"That means it was off by two months," I mused, and when everybody turned to look at me, I made a dismissive gesture with my hands. "Sorry, continue talking."

"At least we weren't blown to a strange land," Reborn reasoned, "Right now we are under Namimori, Japan."

"Currently all the Vongola are being attacked," Yamamoto interrupted with a sober face.

"You must have seen it too." Reborn added, "The coffin with the Vongola mark."

"That's the thing I was in!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"You bastard!" Gokudera exploded, and landed a pretty solid right hook to Yam's jaw.

"Stop it." Reborn declared, "The enemy, the Millefiore Family, has a huge fighting force. And they're cold and cruel. The only way to beat them is to gather the scattered remaining five guardians."

Then everybody started talking about how Tsuna died, but I was too preoccupied to listen.

So ten years later, Tsuna's dead, Yuki's dead, and there's a man-hunt for everybody affiliated with the Vongola. Gee sounds like such a bright future we have ahead of ourselves.

Well…now that we're in the future and can't get back to the past, there is only one thing we can do.

And that's to change it.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I have been on an updating spree only because I'm so excited for the future arc. It's currently like 1 am in the morning and I have school tomorrow so please excuse the mistakes. But I knew I couldn't go to sleep without finishing this chappie. I hope you guys enjoy and please review! It makes not sleeping worth it! LOL Love you guy! ~Until next time.


	34. How?

Target 33: How? (Yuki POV)

I woke up with a groan and sat up and stretched. No wonder I was so sore. This couch was fucking uncomfortable. I looked around for a moment, trying to process everything with my bleary eyes. Where the hell was I again?

Right…I was in the future. The future where I was supposed to be already dead for four years. I _really_ hope I didn't screw anything up. When my bleary sleep induced mind finally decided to work, I saw Reborn, Lal, and Yam all talking around a table in hushed tones.

"Hey guys, wha'cha talking bout?" I asked, drawing their attention on me.

"Oh, Yuki, you're up." Reborn commented, looking at me.

"Ya, and I feel like shit." I groaned, swinging my legs off the couch into a sitting position. Once I sat up, I felt a shooting pain go up my back, and my head started pounding.

"Why do I feel like the morning after a big party? I seriously feel like I have a hangover." I moaned, grabbing my head, and flopping back on the couch.

Everyone was just looking at me weirdly, and I gave them a pointed glare.

"I literally just came back from the fucking dead; you can't expect me to do something about it." I huffed as I grabbed my temples and started massaging them. "Reborn get me some coffee. Like right now."

Reborn actually passed me a cup of espresso and I gladly gulped the liquid down almost scalding myself in the process. When I went to give him the cup back, I looked down and frowned.

"What the fuck am I wearing?" I asked, taking into account that I was wearing a women's suit with a pencil skirt, button down dress shirt, and a blazer. It seemed to fit me perfectly.

"Giannini made that for you beforehand at the request of your future self. Take that off, you'll probably die…again," Reborn deadpanned and I nodded.

"Your future self prepared it," Yam piped in, and I looked over. Lal was also sitting there, and I looked at her and cocked my head sideways.

"Don't do anything stupid." I warned, "Colonello wouldn't want that." I registered shock in her eyes, behind her goggles before they narrowed.

She turned around, walked away from the table and walked towards the door. Once she opened the door, Tsuna and Gokudera were standing outside trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

"We _totally_ weren't eavesdropping," Tsuna said unconvincingly. And Gokudera was whistling while awkwardly looking away. Lal just brushed past them and continued walking with her cape billowing out from behind her.

"Hey guys," I called from over the back of the couch. Gokudera and Tsuna looked over at me, and frowned.

"Yuki-chan, what are you wearing?" Tsuna asked, looking at my blazer and button down shirt. "Did you have something to go to?"

"Uh…no, this is what my future self made me apparently…Well…made me before I died obviously." I gestured to the suit, and Tsuna's and Gokudera's eyes widened.

"Um…I'm sorry?" Tsuna muttered hesitantly, looking down.

"It's not your fault Tsuna, it really isn't. In all honestly it's kinda my fault." I scoffed; actually it was my fault. I should really tell them huh? "But ya…so…"

"I'm starting your mission to collect your guardians," Reborn informed Tsuna, and Tsuna shrieked his signature shriek.

"But how am I going to find them all?"

"Well, you already found most of them." Reborn deadpanned. "All you got are a few more. You might want to start now. Go out with Yamamoto, Ari and Gokudera." And Reborn sent a flying kick to Tsuna's head, which kicked him out the door.

"Now Yuki," He started, turning to look at me, "We have some talking to do."

"Haha….haha…" *Sweatdrop*

* * *

"Coffee?" Reborn offered me, and I took the cup from him.

"You didn't put anything weird like truth serum in here did you?" I asked him, warily eyeing the cup.

I took his silence as a maybe/yes, and put the cup back on the table.

"So…." I began, crossing my legs and getting into a comfortable position. I had a feeling that this talk would take a really long time.

"Yuki, are you an Arcobaleno?"

"Great, what a very direct way of putting it." I scoffed.

"I hate beating around the bush, and you are avoiding the question. Are you or are you not an Arcobaleno?"

"And what if I am?" I challenged. It's not my fault I always get defensive when I feel threatened; and boy, even though Reborn was like the size of a Chihuahua, he was a scary one.

"Don't make me wait Yuki, answer me now." He took Leon off the brim of his fedora, and it turned into his gun.

"Calm down Reborn," I said, holding up my hands in a placating gesture. "You'll never get the answer if you kill me. And yes, I am."

"How?" Reborn asked me, his eyes calculating my body language for signs that I was lying. Obviously, I was not. He seemed to get that though.

"How?" I echoed, "Its cause I am. I'm pretty sure you know how…Don't you?"

"But you…" Reborn started, his eyes narrowing, and I could see the cogs in his mind turning.

"Weren't there?" I finished for him, and he stiffened. After a few moments of silence, he finally decided to speak.

"Show me," He demanded, narrowing his eyes. "If you are one of us then you must have this." He gestured to his pacifier; almost in disgust. "If I was around another Arcobaleno my pacifier would've glowed."

* * *

 **Reborn POV**

Reborn looked Yuki once over and frowned. How could she be one? She wasn't with them on their missions together, nor was she with them on that fated day when they went up to the mountain and got stuck in these cursed forms.

So how? How?

He looked at her once more, and when he blinked, there was a black silk ribbon around her neck. She quietly pulled it out of her shirt, and hanging from it was an opaque white pacifier.

"How?" A short, simple, three letter question, but the answer could be infinite and anything but simple.

She sighed and started toying with it.

"In all honesty I don't really remember…All I know is that I can mask the presence of my pacifier, much like they can mask the ring's presence with Mammon chains now. But I don't need Mammon chains to do it. I also can make my pacifier indivisible to the people I don't want to see it. It's probably because of the Moon attribute. The moon is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, it can be seen during the day, but sometimes can't be seen at night. It's Vongola's last line of defense, with the attribute of invisibility."

She paused and let Reborn absorb the information. She could see the wheels turning in his mind.

"As you can see, I didn't die of some terminal illness or cancer. I died or Tri-ni-set poisoning, which is very much like radiation poisoning. I was the very first one to die in the future with you as the last."

"How do you know what happened in the future?" Reborn questioned her and she sighed again.

"Well…this is where it gets super complicated, with the idea of parallel worlds and dimensions. Basically I am the future me."

She paused again gauging Reborn's reaction. Either he didn't really understand what that meant or he had a great poker face. It was probably both.

After a few moments, Reborn nodded at her to continue. 'How could this be possible?' Reborn thought, 'So the present Yuki was actually the Yuki from the future? So that meant if Yuki was 10 years younger than her actual age?'

Reborn was very smart, but even he couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the idea that it was actually the 10 year later Yuki in the present with them.

"So yeah…" She continued, "When I went back into the past, I continued to age normally, so 10 years later, which is now, I'm actually 24. Basically I went into some parallel worlds and screwed up some shit that sent me to the past, but no matter. It all was okay in the end."

Reborn's eyes widened a fraction, "You can visit parallel worlds?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"Yes I can, with the help of my pacifier. I'm pretty sure that you know Byakuran can do it too."

"Byakuran…" Reborn echoed…"So you know him?"

"Ha," She laughed, "In some worlds I knew him a lot more than I wish I did."

"You know why we were summoned to the future don't you?"

"Summoned?" She questioned, "Why do you say that?"

"We all know that the bazooka didn't just malfunction, someone brought us here for a reason. So…what is it?" Taking Yuki's silence as her answer, Reborn jumped down from his armchair.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He confessed, while he walked out of the room.

"I hope I do too." Yuki muttered to herself, looking down at her pacifier. "I really hope so."

* * *

 **Third Person POV (Yuki)**

Suddenly feeling exhausted, she dragged herself out of the couch she was on, and decided to find her room. She distantly remembered Giannini telling her where her future self's room was, but she just walked around, trying to find the closest empty room to crash in.

She walked through a bunch of corridors and doors, until she came to one side of the base that looked empty. It seemed to be a very traditional Japanese room, and she walked through, trying to find a bed room.

"Shit," She swore, as her shin came into contact with a low Japanese wood table. The paintbrushes that were on it clattered to the floor, and she bent down to pick them up. She didn't bother putting them where she found them because her mind was getting hazy, and her shin was in pain.

'That's gonna be a nasty bruise,' She thought, as she continued looking around for a bed.

The first room she came to just had tatami mats on the floor, typical of a traditional Japanese household, but she would rather sleep on a couch then sleep on one of those.

She spied another door, and opened it, but had trouble with the doorknob. Once she finally managed to get it open, she walked into the room, and plugged her nose, not bothering to close the door. She expected to be attacked with dust, since she expected this room was not used often, but found it surprisingly clean and dust free. Yuki was allergic to dust, and the tiniest bit would trigger an allergic reaction which would have her sneezing for 15 minutes straight.

"Thank the good Lord," She praised, as she plopped on the luxurious memory foam bed. The sheets were cold, and she shivered, as she burrowed down deeper. She felt sorry for whoever's room she just stole, but she was too comfortable to move or even write a note.

'I hope I don't give anyone a heart attack once they find me in their bed,' She thought to herself, as she let sleep takeover.

* * *

 **(Mystery POV, but it's pretty obvious ;)**

He had just come back from a mission, and went to his side of the base. He changed out of his suit, and put on more comfortable clothes, as he raised his eyebrow. Someone had been in here recently. He could tell; by the way some things had shifted. The table was slightly off center, and there was a paintbrush on the ground.

He narrowed his eyes, as he continued to survey the surrounding area; on high alert. With the swiftness of a feline, he gently moved across the main room without making sound, and walked to his bedroom. Once he saw there was no one in it, he was about to relax, until his eyes fell on another door. He could tell the door had been recently opened, and it was slightly ajar. He distinctly remembered closing it the last time he cleaned that room.

Everyone knew it was a taboo to go into that room, and if they did; even on accident it was instant death for them.

He opened the door slowly, and froze when he saw a form in the bed. He could feel his anger boiling up, and whoever the hell that was, was going to taste his wrath. That person was sleeping in _her_ bed, the bed that she has pestered him to buy because she hated tatami mats and preferred beds anyway.

He stalked over closer to the bed, and was prepared to drag the person out of bed. He never did though. His hand stopped short of the sheets as he took in _who_ was sleeping.

He processed the familiar tangle of black and white curls, and even though her face was hidden, he knew who it was.

'How?' He asked himself, his brain not finding a logical explanation.

 _Hope was a fragile thing with paper wings. It could easily soar upwards with the wind, and just as easily come crashing down in a crumpled broken heap. He retracted his hand and swallowed the bile of regret and unspoken words that his pride had prevented him from saying. Then he decided he would do something he hasn't done since she died._

 _He would hope._

A/N: OMG GUYS I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY! That took me waaaaay too long to update. I think that was the longest I have gone without updating. Anyway, I have been swamped with homework and other stuff, and I just haven't found the time to write yet. Anyway, did anybody see that Yuki was an Arcobaleno? Yes no? LOL Plot twist! Anyone have any guesses on the mystery man? Hahaha. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and continue to read! Please give me feedback on if you guys like the third person POV. I wanted to try something different. Read and Review? Love y'all ~Until next time.


	35. Confusion

Target 34: Confusion (Ari POV)

Well…I was in the future. Great. What do I do now? I have no fucking idea. I lay down, rolling around in the bed they assigned me; which was actually quite comfortable, but it wasn't _my_ bed. I just laid there for a while thinking about what happened in the future and how to change it.

'Uhg, I can't freaking do this!' I thought, throwing the blankets over my head in frustration. I just tried to get some sleep and maybe it'll all get better.

But of course it won't.

I heard the sliding door open to my room, and pulled the blankets further over my head.

"Ari-chan, are you awake?" I heard a faint voice ask. I immediately recognized it as Tsuna's.

"Tsuna, what are you doing this late?" I asked, trying to burrow in my bed.

"Ari-chan, you do realize its 12 in the afternoon not midnight?"

I pulled the blanket off my head, looked at the clock and then groaned.

"I can still sleep can't I?" I plopped back down on the bed with a thud, and rolled around noisily.

"Uhh…" Tsuna began hesitantly, "Do you want to go out with us? Yamamoto, Gokudera-kun, and I are all going out in hopes of finding more guardians."

"Eh…sure why not? Not like I can do anything else." I mumbled, and dragged myself out of bed.

* * *

Once we actually went outside, I took in the surroundings. It didn't seem like Namimori changed that much from the last time I was there…which was technically ten years ago. (Correction: 9 years and 10 months ago ;) We walked around for a little bit; trying to avoid calling attention to ourselves, and trying to avoid getting caught by the Millefiore.

Then we heard a loud explosion and Tsuna and the others immediately were on high alert.

"Stay here." Yam warned, and he whipped out his katana, and walked ahead where we could see a partially destroyed building that was smoking. Of course we totally ignored Yamamoto's order, and followed him anyway. Once we were in the building, we saw 10YL I-Pin with 10YL Lambo fighting some bad guys. (I'm pretty sure they were Millefiore guys.)

Then we looked around and saw 10YL Kyoko and Haru, It was like they had switched hair, because Kyoko's was long, down to her elbows, while Haru had opted for a shorter bob cut.

"Tsu-kun!" Kyoko cried out, when she caught sight of us.

'Tsu-kun?' I thought, 'Why the hell is she calling him Tsu-kun? Were they that much closer 10 years later?'

"Why are you so much shorter?" Kyoko asked Tsuna in confusion looking at down at him. Before he got a chance to answer, she and Haru disappeared in a puff of pink smoke, and there was regular Kyoko and Haru.

"Ara? What am I doing here? Tsuna-kun? What are you doing here?" Kyoko asked in confusion looking around. Then the two guys chasing us, Nosaru and Tazaru started attacking.

"No time to explain!" I yelled, as we took cover behind a wall. "We'll explain once we get to safety."

Tsuna went into hyper dying will mode and saved everybody and all the jazz. Yamamoto turned back into his normal self, and was super confused. We had to explain it to him once we got back to the base. Kyoko and Haru of course were the most confused and demanded answers. But Reborn though that not telling them would be better. Also, Haru actually kinda knew about the whole mafia incident. But the girls were useful because they cooked and cleaned but they didn't think it was fair, because Yuki and I were busy training while they were folding clothes. I would be pissed too.

* * *

"Basically we have to eliminate a guy named Irie Shoichi to get back to the past," Gokudera said hesitantly.

"Right," Reborn agreed, "Apparently he is a Millefiore captain."

"Yup the red headed guy with the glasses," Gokudera agreed, and I looked at him in confusion.

"So basically killing this guy will result in us going back to the past?" Yuki asked in clarification.

"Of course," Reborn replied, and she nodded.

"Well let's go kill this red headed guy with glasses," I declared sarcastically.

* * *

"Let's start training," Reborn randomly said one day.

"Training?" Yuki asked sprawled on the couch.

"Yes, training, and you don't get out of it." Reborn replied, jumping and landing on her back. She groaned but made no move to move or push him off her. "Lal will be your guys' trainer by the way."

As if on cue, Lal walked in with her cape billowing out from behind her.

"If you don't think you can handle it, get out right now. I don't want to waste my time on you guys," She was glaring so hard I could feel it through her goggles; even though I wasn't the one who the glare was directed to. Tsuna was shaking on a corner, cowering behind Gokudera, while Yamamoto was laughing and saying that it sounded fun.

"FUN? FUN?!" Tsuna shrieked. He was right, no way in hell was this going to be the least bit enjoyable. I guess we'll just have to live through it and hope Lal doesn't murder us.

* * *

A/N: It's been more than two months since I last updated….OMG IM SO SO SORRY! Time really does fly. Again that took waaaayyyyy too long to publish. I'm so sorry guys! School has been a serious bitch and I'm like dying. Everyday life getting in the way of me writing my fanfiction. LOL. But I haven't forgotten you guys and I plan not to. Please continue to read! I love all you guys! Please read and review? Sorry if this chapter sounds a little choppy and things are glossed over. I'm just getting back into the groove of writing since I haven't been doing it in so long. Lol, this chapter is a lot shorter than what I'm used to writing but I just wanted to get something published. Plus I'm much more excited about writing Yuki than Ari during this time, so look forward to the next chapter because I promise it will be a lot better. A LOT better. Love you guys again! ;)


	36. Catch Me If You Can

Target 35: Catch Me If You Can (Yuki POV)

 _Flashback:_

 _Hope was a fragile thing with paper wings. It could easily soar upwards with the wind, and just as easily come crashing down in a crumpled broken heap. He retracted his hand and swallowed the bile of regret and unspoken words that his pride had prevented him from saying. Then he decided he would do something he hasn't done since she died._

 _He would hope._

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly and adjusted to my surroundings. Damn, this bed was hella comfy; I think that was the first time I slept without waking up randomly. I got up and swung my legs over the side, but cursed once I got up because the world was spinning. Once the dizzy spell passed, I headed for the door.

I froze once I got it open.

* * *

(Hibari POV)

 _He could hear the slight rustling in her room, but he made no move to get up. He stayed sitting on his knees, sipping his green tea at his table. He heard her curse, and all his doubt went away._

 _It was her. Kawahira Yuki._

 _The door creaked opened, yet he stayed absolutely still and unmoving._

 _Then he looked up._

* * *

My mouth popped open in a surprised 'o' once I took in who was sitting on the floor.

"Hibari?" I managed to squeak out, and he turned to look at me.

"What are you doing on my side of the base herbivore?" He asked me, picking his paint brush up and continuing to write whatever he was writing before.

"Well hello to you to," I replied cheekily. "If I'm not mistaken I'm pretty sure Giannini told me that my room was on this side of the base though. I didn't know it was _your_ side of the base."

That seemed to make Hibari snap. He got up from the floor in a swift fluid movement, and soon he was looming over me, with a tonfa pressed to my throat.

"It's not your room, it's _her_ room. Don't make that mistake again." He growled his voice calm and even, but steely and cold, and I could detect the death threat underneath it.

"Jeez, fine," I replied, holding my hands up in a placation gesture while trying to shove him away. "Wait…Her room? Who's her?" I asked him in confusion, cocking my head to the side and gazing at him intently. He didn't reply, and continued on with his calligraphy, but I could see he was pressing down on the paintbrush; gripping it so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

I knew it wasn't right to push him, and I seriously wanted to know. I actually didn't remember anything from my future, just everybody else's, and I think that was so I wouldn't screw up anything. Plus my memory was starting to fail me, and it became harder and harder to recall what happened anymore.

I continued standing there, determined to keep staring at him until he answered. But of course, I was dealing with Hibari ten years later, and a little of my staring wasn't going to bother him. But I kept on thinking about what happened in the future. I felt like I knew it once, but it was forgotten in time as my mind replaced that memory with something else. It was hard keeping two sets of memories in your head. I got terrible head splitting migraines all the time.

But I knew. I knew who this person he was speaking of was. I just couldn't get a name or a face. The more I thought about it, the more my head started to pound, and my knees started buckling. My vision was tunneling, and I tried to grab something to support me.

But there was nothing there and I just sat on the ground to let this dizzy spell pass. Somewhere in the back of my hazy mind, I could feel Hibari's eyes watching me, but he made no move to get up.

"Bastard," I mumbled under my breath, as I felt myself fall towards the ground. The last thought I had before I passed out was that Hibari was going to miraculously swoop in and catch me, like all the heroes do to their damsels in distress. (Not like I wanted to be or am a damsel in distress).

But it's Hibari we're talking about.

So he let me fall.

* * *

 _Back to Hibari POV_

 _He watched using his peripheral vision as her eyes clouded over, and her face contorted. She reached for something to grab onto, but found nothing. He continued watching her sway back and forth, eyes getting hazy and knees shaking. This reminded him all too much of when she first got sick, but he reminded himself that this was not her._

 _This was not his Yuki._

 _She started falling and he let her fall, not catching her or even making the slightest shift in his movements that suggested he was going to do anything to help._

 _He remembered all those times he had to save her all those years ago._

 _ **Flashback:**_

 _Once upon a time, they were on a mission,_ _and Yuki somehow managed to get stranded on a rooftop. The building was going up in flames and the rest of the team was already out. She was standing, balanced precariously on the edge looking down._

 _He was standing right under her with his arms spread out wide. (Granted the building was only three stories, but that would still hurt)._

" _Catch me if you can," She called down, and gave him a cocky smirk before she jumped. Half of him wanted to drop her just to teach her a lesson, but he caught her and they managed to get away without a single scratch._

 _That was the last mission they went on together, and that was the last mission she would ever go on._

* * *

 _So he got up and willed himself to walk away, leaving her there; vulnerable, alone._

 _He left her behind again and kept walking, back straight, shoulders squared, chin up, hands shaking ever so slightly, it could be dismissed as a twitch._

 _Just like when she died._

* * *

Yuki POV

I woke up with a groan. Jesus how many times am I gonna wake up with a groan instead of a blissful sigh? But I apparently passed out on a hard wood floor so that definitely cannot be comfortable. And it was cold too. I was freezing my ass off.

I picked myself off the floor and got up. Thank god this time I wasn't still woozy and delirious.

I looked around in confusion for a second before I remembered what happened.

Hibari that fucking bastard! He let me fall while he just watched. I mean…he could've me, not like he was going to, but it would have been nice if he did… What am I talking about? This is Hibari! I'm pretty sure he would kiss Mukuro then commit murder suicide before catching me and acting all romantic.

Screw him and his cold cool steely demeanor. One day I will crack him. One day I will find the girl who seemed to give him so much joy. Actually, I don't think that can even be said.

One day I will find the girl who he was able to tolerate because he seemed empty. (Not that he let it show, but I could tell after years of reading people's emotions).

Maybe she could also fill in some gaps I have in my memory. Well...she could fill in a lot of the information I'm missing. Maybe she could also give me some details about the future.

I need to figure out who she is...and find her fast.

* * *

A/N: OMG guys it hasn't been that long since I last updated YAY! I really like this chapter and think Yuki is so stupid for not realizing. I mean I know it's all cliché to have the girl not remember but Yuki does have to remember memories from two lives, and just memorizing stuff for a test is hard. Also, you can see my bias in this chapter! I do ship Mukuro and Hibari. Review and tell me who is your OTP in KHR and if you like Hibari and Mukuro together. Cause I do! ;) That reminds me…I haven't been able to write as much as I would like to because its finals week. Fuck my life. But at least I got something up right? I mean I just have one last final tomorrow so wish me luck! This is how much I love you guys to be writing this instead of studying LOL. So…please read and review and make my procrastination worth it? I love reading all your guy's reviews! ;) Love y'all so much! ~Until next time!


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